Save me from the Zombies Please
by Amira77
Summary: They were best friends since birth, until Rei showed up. Their friendship ended and she was sent overseas to study. Now she's back but what happens when the world comes crashing on top of her? Will they be able to rebuild their friendship? Rated M for language and some lemon. (OC X Takashi)
1. Chapter 1

(Just a warning, but this is one of the older stories I've written o- o so uhm... the writing style might be bad... really, bad and as you all know I'm a lazy bum that doesn't want to go back and edit it [I should fix that one of these days])

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Meyrin was excited that the school day was over. She would be able to see Takashi like every other day. Once she was out the car and got permission to go see Takashi she ran to her chauffeur. Her short black hair flowed as she ran and her blue eyes were filled with joy.

"Mommy said I could go visit Takashi." She said happily.

"Very well miss come along, would you like some ice cream?" he asked he opened the car for her.

"No thank you." She said as she got in. It was already well into the second semester of her Kindergarten year. She greeted his parents and they let her into the back yard where he usually was. She was going to call out to him but she then saw that there was another girl there with honey colored hair. She stood by the door silently just watching and listening.

"I'll be your wife." the girl said.

"Really?" Takashi said happily.

"Yeah! Pinky promise." She said and held her pinky finger out. Takashi linked his pinky with her.

Meyrin took a step back trying to get away before either of them noticed. She was hurt by the scene that played out before her. She liked Takashi and thought that he liked her back but that wasn't the case. She stepped on a branch and it snapped. They looked over at her.

"Meyrin." Takashi said.

"Meyrin?" the girl said.

Meyrin spun on her heels and ran away.

"Wait!" Takashi said but she was already out the gate. She ran back into the car and they sped off. Once she arrived home she ran into her house and locked herself in her room. Her parents knocked telling her to let them speak to her but she wanted to be alone. She sat in her bed and cried her little eyes out. Finally after she was done crying she walked out her room and went to her parents. A couple of days ago they asked her if she wanted to go see the world and study. She refused because she didn't want to leave Takashi but now nothing was holding her back.

"I want to go away from here." She said. "I want to study somewhere else."

Her parents exchanged glances. "Are you sure dear?" Her mother asked.

Meyrin nodded her head.

"If that's what you want then we'll make sure you get the best." Her father said. Meyrin was a high class child.

"Thank you daddy." She said and hugged him tightly. He petted her head. Her father was a well-built man with black hair and brown eyes. He towered of the little girl like a giant.

"Now you should get whatever you want to take with you, tomorrow you'll be on your way, okay?" He said.

"Okay." She said and went to her room. She looked around trying to see what she wanted to take. She couldn't think of anything she wanted to take specifically. So she just decided to go to bed and sleep. When her father said tomorrow he meant early in the morning. The maids packed her things and set them out in the living room.

"Are you sure this is right?" Her mother asked as she glanced up the stairs where her daughter was sleeping. Her mother was a beautiful woman. She had blond hair and beautiful crystal eyes. She had an hour glass and was a little shorter than her husband.

"Yes it will do her good in the future and it's about time she finally got over that boy." he said.

"Yes but still she'll be gone for a long time."

"It will make her independent and strong. Now stop complaining, she's a good girl, she will be able to handle It."

"I suppose so." she said. Soon morning came and Meyrin was awakened. She was changed into a yellow dress and black shoes; she looked as if she was going to church.

"Daddy." Meyrin said as they rode in the car to the airport.

"Yes?" he said.

"Is it going to be scary?"

"No my dear, it will be the very opposite." he said.

"Oh, okay." She said happily and looked out the window. "Will I come back?"

"Of course and when you do we'll be waiting for you." her mother said smiling.

"That's good." she said. They rode in silence the rest of the way. Once they arrived at the airport her father gave her, her plane ticket.

"Now listen when you get to your destination there will be a man holding a sign with your name on it, follow him and he'll take care of you." he said.

"Okay I will." I said taking the ticket. He hugged her for the last time that year.

"Take care." he said.

"I will." she said. Then her mother came and hugged her.

"Stay safe and do your best, don't disappoint us." She said with a smile and tears at her eyes.

"Don't cry mommy, I will be the very best." Meyrin said.

"Of course you will." she said and let go of her daughter. "Now go on or you won't make it."

Meyrin waved on last time at her parents and boarded the plan. As the plane took off she looked at her hometown for the last time and wouldn't be back until many years. She waved thinking her parents would be able to see her. "Bye-bye"


	2. I'm back

A girl with long black hair and blue eyes stepped out of the plane and into the airport. She had on a black and blue summer dress with black and white flats. She looked around 16 or 17. She had an hourglass figure and any man who saw her was sure to drool over her. She headed towards the cafe and bought a cup of coffee and a doughnut. She sat down with a sigh and took a sip of her coffee.

"The airport has grown much bigger since I was last here."

She took a bite of her doughnut. By the way she ate you would have thought that she was royalty or someone of very high class. Her phone rang in her purse and she pulled it out.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Meyrin, where are you at dear?" Her mother said.

"I am in the cafe eating a little snack." She said.

"Come on out to the main lobby, we're waiting." Her mother said.

"I will be there in a second." She said as she began to clean up the little mess she made.

"Alright see you soon." Her mother said and hung up. Meyrin put her phone back in the purse and took her doughnut and coffee with her. She made her way to the main lobby. There she saw her mother and father but they were facing the opposite direction. They hadn't changed much or at all. She walked up behind them and tapped on her father's shoulder. He turned around.

"Good evening father." She said with a smile.

"Meyrin, is that you?" Her mother asked.

"Of course it is, who else would it be?" She said happily.

Her mother pulled into a hug with tears coming out. "Oh Meyrin, how much we missed you." she said.

"I've also missed you both very much." She said as she let go of her mother and faced her father.

"My you've grown into quite the young lady." Her father said.

"Thank you, I am glad that I am living up to your expectations." She said.

"Come let us head home, you must have much to tell us." Her father said as he began to walk away. A couple of men followed behind carrying her things.

"Yes, please be prepared to hear eleven years' worth of stories." She said.

"Of course." Her father chuckled. They went into the black limo outside the airport. The city has grown bigger since then. Finally they drove up to the large gates of her house. They opened up and they drove down the road that was lined with Sakura trees. Meyrin sighed as she remembered running around here like an idiot and watching the flowers sprout... with him. She shook off the thought. "It's been many years and he probably doesn't remember he's probably been busy with that girl." She thought to herself.

They arrived at the front of the house, it looked more like a palace than anything else. The door was opened for her and she walked out behind her mother. There was a line of servants standing at the entrance to greet her.

"Welcome back Meyrin-sama." They said in unison and bowed.

"Thank you, it's a pleasure to be back." Meyrin said with a smile.

"Come Meyrin I have planned a ball for your return." Her father said as they entered the house.

"For me? Father that's unnecessary."? She said.

"Nonsense, my only daughter has finally returned home after eleven years, we must celebrate." He said. "It will be a costume ball, in your room there are several costumes, choose the one you like the best." He said as he headed up the stairs.

"Please Meyrin do as he says, he's been planning this for quite awhile." Her mother whispered to her.

"I will attend the ball and I won't disappoint you." Meyrin said.

Her father smiled. "The ball starts in two hours." He said as he went into his office.

Her mother smiled at her "Thank you." she said and followed her husband to his office.

Meyrin stood there for a bit then headed to her own room. Her room was on the fifth floor, the third door to the right. She entered and a maid was there waiting.

"Good evening Miss Tenken."

"Good evening." Meyrin said. "So what costumes has my father put out for me?"

"Several but there are ten main ones he wants you to try." She said as she opened the closet to reveal ten different outfits. "The first is a demon princess." She said and brought our a very revealing outfit. The 'shirt' looked like it would barely cover her chest. The design was nice it was a fiery red swirled with a midnight black. Then the skirt was short beyond short. It had the same basic design as the shirt but it was too revealing.

"Uhm... we'll come back to that." Meyrin said.

The maid nodded and brought out the next outfit. It was a see red dress with rose designs, it was see through. "This is a rose nymph costume." She said. It was rather long but what bothered Meyrin the most was that it was see through.

"Next." Meyrin said.

She pulled out a gold dress that looked like it would reach her mid thigh. It was strapless but it had wings attached to them. "A fairy princess." the maid said.

"Hhmmm, maybe." Meyrin said.

The maid nodded and set it aside. Then she pulled out a victorian style dress, the top was in a corset style with blue vine designs on the black cloth. Then at where the skirt started it was very ruffled but as it went further it became less and less ruffled. The color of the skirt was blue and lined with black. The dress was breathtaking.

"This one is beautiful." Meyrin said.

"It is a victorian noble costume, there is tiara that goes along with it and glass slippers." The maid said.

"Then it's decided I will wear that dress. I will go take a quick shower and be out in a bit." Meyrin said as she headed to her bathroom.

"I shall be waiting here." The maid said. Meyrin closed the door behind her. She decided to use the shower. She stripped down and entered. She did her business and stepped out fifteen minutes later. She walked out the towel with the towel draped over her.

"I have the hair dryer here, please let me." The maid said as she motioned Meyrin to sit in the chair. Meyrin let the maid dry her hair. Once it was dried she was put into a corset.

"Must I really wear this?" Meyrin asked.

"Yes it will bring your figure together more." The maid said as she began to tighten it. Meyrin dug her nails into the wall as it began to squeeze her. Finally after ten long minutes the maid was done.

"How do people stand these?!" Meyrin said.

"Please do bear for tonight." The maid said as she got the dress.

Meyrin sighed "Please don't let me wear a corset ever again."

"As you wish." The maid said. She got her into the dress then laced up the back of the dress. However Meyrin was not allowed to look at herself in the mirror until she was completely done. Afterwards a make up specialist was brought in to work with her. Then a hair stylist. Finally she was put into the shoes.

"Are you ready to see yourself Miss?" The maid said.

"Yes, I would love to see." Meyrin said. The maid signaled two men to come in carrying a mirror. Meyrin was astonished at how beautiful she looked. She had on blue eye shadow that made her eyes pop and a bit of blush was on her cheeks and her lips were a light tint of rose. He hair was probably the most astonishing though.

She looked at her self in astonishment. "Wow."

"Yes come now it is almost time for you to make your entrance." the maid said as she motioned the men to leave. "I will go alert your parents that you are ready."

"Wait does that mean that all the guest have arrived?" Meyrin asked.

"Yes miss now please excuse me." the maid said and left.

"I wonder who is here? Probably some of father's associates." Meyrin thought as she sat down and waited. Five minutes later the maid came back.

"They are waiting for you, please take the main stairs to the ballroom." The maid said.

"I will, thank you." Meyrin said and made her way to the main stairs. She could hear the music and the laughter. She became nervous as she grew closer. She took a deep breath and began to descend the steps. As soon as her glass shoe hit the marble floor and the sound was heard all eyes were turned on her. She held on to the railing thinking that her nerves would make her collapse. The walked seemed to last forever although it was no longer than ten seconds.

"You look beautiful." Her father said as he took her hand kissed it. He had on the costume of a king.

"Thank you father." She said with a smile. He offered his arm and she took it. The crowd parted making a path for them to the center of the ballroom. Once they assumed a ballroom dance position the music began to play and they danced.

"Father." Meyrin said.

"Yes dear?"

"You're the best." She said and laid her head on his chest. "I missed you and mother a lot." Her father listened to her as they continued to dance. "I'm glad I'm back, another year and I'm sure I would have died of loneliness."

"Now why would you say that?"

"Because I felt empty with out you guys."

"Well we're with you now and we'll never leave your side."

"Thanks daddy." She said. He smiled at her saying daddy instead of father. They danced and every moment they were watched. When the song over there was an applause and from the crowd her mother emerged.

"Meyrin you look gorgeous, you put me to shame." Her mother said. She had the costume of a queen.

"Nonsense, it's the other way around." Meyrin said.

"We're going to finish greeting the guest, enjoy yourself Meyrin." Her father as he took his wife and disappeared into the crowd. She smiled faintly and soon she was surrounded by many people. They asked many questions and Meyrin answered them to the fullest of her abilities. Finally the crowd died down and she was able to roam around the ballroom some.

"You did quite a dance with your father." Someone said from behind her.

Meyrin spun around to see someone with black/brown spiky hair. He was wearing a mask and simple suit. He was just a tad taller than her.

"Oh, thank you." She said. "Are you a friend of my father's?"

"May I speak to you in private." he said ignoring her question.

"Oh, uhm, I suppose." Meyrin said. He took her arm and led her out the balcony. It was dark out it was a full moon. She looked out over the property it looked amazing. "Beautiful don't you think?" Meyrin said.

"Yes, but not as much as you." the mystery man said.

Meyrin blushed "T-thank you." There was a brief silence. "May I see who you are?"

"If you can tell me why you left without notice."

"What?" she said as she faced the masked man.

"You left Japan without telling anyone of your friends, why?"

"Because they wouldn't have cared, I only had one friend but he seemed to be busy with another girl." She said and looked back at the property.

"That's not true." The man said grabbing her wrist forcing her to look at him.

"Just who are you?"

He took off the mask. Meyrin's eyes widen. "Takashi?" she grew angered. "Let me go! What are you even doing here!?" as she tried to get out of his grip.

"When I found out you left I was devastated."

"Ha! Yeah right, what happened to that little wife of yours hm?"

"Look I was young and I didn't know what I was doing."

"Apparently."

Takashi pinned her against the wall and kissed her roughly. She remembered her training overseas and kicked him off her. Then proceeded to slap him across the face.

"How dare you!" Meyrin said tears stinging her eyes. Takashi put his hand up to where he had been slapped. "You think that after all these years a kiss will just fix it?"

"I..."

"Well you're dead wrong! It might work on the other girls but that work on me!" Meyrin said. Her father came out hearing her.

"What's going on?" He asked.

Meyrin glared at Takashi "Nothing." She said and left tears on the brim of falling.

"What did you do to her?" Her father growled.

"I... I..." Was all Takashi was able to say.

"Get out and never come back." Her father said and left Takashi to go after her daughter. Meyrin was no longer interested in the ball. She made her way through the crowd and used the stairs in the kitchen to reach her room. She collapsed on the bed and cried.

"Meyrin, sweet heart." Her father said as he entered the room. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at him, her make up running.

"Oh my poor child." He said and went to her to comfort her.

"Why does it have to be like this?" she said as she cried into her fathers arms. "Can't he see how much he's hurting me?"

"It's okay, I promise you'll never have to deal with him again." Her father whispered.

"I hate him but I love him too... what's wrong with me daddy?" She cried.

"Nothing's wrong with you, he's the one that is wrong." He said. Meyrin cried into her father's arm and almost fell asleep.

"Meyrin before you fall asleep please do take off the corset." Her father said.

"I will but can you help me." She said looking up at her father.

"Of course." He said and wiped away one of her tears. After he helped her out of the corset she dressed into a night gown. "Good night my princess." Her father said as he kissed her forehead.

"Good night daddy." She said as she drifted to sleep.


	3. How annyoing

The next day Meyrin woke up later than usual. "I guess dad thought that I'd be better if I slept in." She thought as she climbed out of bed. It was oddly quiet, she didn't like the silence. She brushed off the thought and decided to take a bath to relax herself. She sighed as she lowered herself into the bath. The scenes from yesterday replayed in her mind.

"I swear I'll make him pay for what he did, for everything he did."

It might seem dumb to some people that she's still holding a grudge after so long, well at first she wasn't but then he kissed her. That's where he went wrong, she would have just continued on her life if it wasn't for that mistake. She shook her head and tried to relax herself. After several failed attempts she decided to give up and get out the bath. She got into the blue bathrobe and walked out the bathroom. She headed towards her drawer. Then there was sudden loud banging at the door.

"One second!" She called out. The banging continued on. "Hold on!" She said as she pulled out a random dress. The banging became louder and more insistent. "I said hold on!" She said as she slipped the dress on. The banging continued "I'm coming! I'm coming! Jeez." She said as she headed towards the door. She opened the door and was pushed down to the ground. It was a maid, she shut the door behind her and was breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?" Meyrin said as she sat up.

"It's horrible miss." She said shaking her head, tears streaming down her eyes.

"What is? What happened?"

"At the gate there was a man and one of the security guards went to check it out... and, and... It was just horrible."

"Why, what did he do?" Meyrin asked worriedly

"The man bit off the security guard's hand off."

Meyrin's eyes widen in horror.

"But that's not all; the security guard fell to the floor and started screaming in pain, it was the most ear piercing sound ever. Then he just stopped moving, some others walked over to him, we thought he was dead but then he sat up and we were relieved until he bit the next security officer's face off. Then before you know it the whole house has been infested with cannibals."

"Father! Mother! Are they okay?"

The maid fell silent and lowered her head.

"Answer me!" Meyrin said as she shook the maid.

"They... they were outside with the security officers!" Tears continued to fall down the maid's cheek as she began to sob into her hands. "I'm so sorry."

"They're dead? No they can't be, please no."Meyrin thought to herself. She sat there shocked, time seemed frozen to her. "They wouldn't die so easily, right? Not by something like this." Her thoughts were interrupted by another loud banging. Meyrin and the maid exchanged glances.

"Miss please stay back, I'll check who it is." The maid said as she stood up. Meyrin nodded her head and crouched behind the bed.

The maid stood in front of the door, she was shaking in fear. "W-who is it?" She asked. There was no answer but more banging. Once again the two females exchanged glances. Meyrin grabbed the lamp on her bed stand, she held it defensively and nodded the maid to open the door. The maid swallowed down her fear and turned the doorknob as the banging stopped. She opened the door to reveal Meyrin's parents

"Master! Madam! I'm so glad you guys are okay!" The maid said happily. There were traces of blood on their clothes and they looked down so their eyes were shadowed. Something seemed off though but Meyrin quite couldn't put her finger on it. "What happened? Are you hurt? Come with me and I'll clean your wounds." The maid said as she reached out to them.

"Wait! Something isn't right!" Meyrin said.

"Huh?" The maid said but it was too late. The two adults had jumped on top of the maid and began to eat her flesh. Meyrin couldn't move, she couldn't think, she was helpless. Her once normal parents were now man eating monsters. She dropped the lamp causing an echo of sound. The two cannibals stopped eating the maid and looked at her.

"... miss... please run..." The maid muttered before her body fell limp. Meyrin was too terrified to run; she was too terrified to do anything.

"Please... daddy..." Meyrin said softly. The two cannibals launched themselves at the girl. She fell back and brought her arms up to her face as she closed her eyes. She waited for the impact, for the pain but it never came. Instead she felt a warm liquid splatter on her arms. She lowered her defense and opened her eyes to see her two parents fall dead beside her. The smell was disgusting and strong. From behind the collapsing bodies stood a wounded security officer.

"Madam please, run away from here, take anything you need and leave this country, find a safe place. Don't be bitten by these monsters or you will become one of them, I have been bitten and my time is almost over. I will tell you the information I have gathered so far: these things are blind and seem like they could barely lift a thing, but they can hear extremely well and their strength is inhuman. Thank you for everything." He said as he held up a gun to his head. "It was a pleasure working for your family. Please take care of yourself."

"Wait!" She yelled but it was too late he pulled the trigger and the sound of the gun rang through the halls. There was a thud as he landed on top of her father. She stared at the spot that he was once standing at, dumbfounded. Finally she screamed at the top of her lungs. She began out to yell out all sorts of things, from hating her parents to the very reason of her existence. After a few minutes of going on a rant she finally calmed down and just cried. "Why is this happening? I didn't want you guys to die. You weren't supposed to die." She said as she sobbed into her hands.

The maid that had been partially eaten was turning into one of the monsters while Meyrin let out her emotions. It crawled over to her moaning and groaning. "Be quiet you dumb maid." Meyrin growled as she took her head out her hands but continued to look at the floor. The thing kept crawling and growling. "Shut up!" Meyrin yelled. She grabbed the lamp that she had dropped and knocked off the thing's head off. She stood up and stepped over the dead bodies. She walked out into the hallway and saw dead bodies sprawled out on the floor. She paid no attention to them and walked over them. She was heading towards the weapons storage room, which was in the basement. As she made her way down the mansion began to reek of dead bodies. Every once in a while on of the bodies would lunge at her she simply just knocked its head off with the lamp. Once she was down at the basement she had to either do a hand scan or type in a code. Her father changes the code almost every day so that wasn't an option. She hoped that her hand would be the key to entering. She put her hand on the scanner, there was the buzzing, meaning that it was starting to scan. She waited in suspense as it scanned her hand. Once it was done there was a brief silence followed by a small beep. The doors opened, she sighed in relief as she walked into the room. The door closed behind her sealing out the rest of the world. It looked like a plain room made of steel. At the very back there was a main computer. She went up to it; however there was a passcode that had to be entered. While she was away she had learned how to hack into a computer. She began to go through the complicated progress that included many codes and several firewalls. However she was able to successfully break into it. Once she was in she knew what to do. She pushed a single button and the walls flipped revealing several shelves of weapons ranging from Long range launchers to simple pocket knives. The tables opened up to reveal several different clothing, bags and clips of bullets.

"This should be enough." She said as she walked over to the bags. She grabbed one of the bigger ones that had several different pockets. She looked at the clips of bullets. She decided she would pick out a gun the come and get the bullets. She looked at the hand held guns. Most of them she'd only studied in books. She decided to go with a Koch VP70 and a Bretta 93 R. She was very mindful about storing them in their own pockets inside the book bag. She then looked at the grenades. Personally she preferred grenades to any other firearm. Why? She didn't exactly know, maybe it was because of how destructive they were. There were several different types of grenades and she couldn't bring herself to just choose one. So she took one of each of the types, luckily there were just enough pockets to fit them all.

"Yay pockets!" she said happily. Now she had to pick a long range weapon, she could go with a bow and arrow or a type of sniper. "Hhhmm…" She said as she looked at the guns then at the bows. "If I use a gun I'll run out of ammo and you can't reuse the ammo you shoot… but then again I can bring clips but when I run out of those… But if I have a bow I won't have that problem I can always reuse the arrows but if the arrow breaks, well I could use the ones made of iron." She took another glance at both different types. "Okay bows and arrows it is, now uhm… which kind?" She said as she took a better look at the types and brands of bows. "So many to pick from." She groaned. "I know! I'll just pick a random and not even bother to look what brand or type it is!" She said. She closed her eyes and reached out. She grabbed one and just held it without looking down at it. "Alright so next are the arrows and a case for this." She said as she went to the right a bit where an array of cases and arrows lay about. She took a look at the metal ones.

"Hhmm three inches around…. I think two should be enough." She said just as she was about to reach out she stopped. "Maybe I should find the case first…" She said as she looked at the cases. She wanted a case that didn't need to be unbuttoned or unstrapped when she needed the bow and arrows. She found one that seemed perfect, there was the cylinder shaped holder for the arrows and on the side there were three small clips where the bow could be clipped on and pulled off easily. She took it and began to put the arrows in it, she decided to put as many arrows in the case as it could hold: it could hold twenty three. Then she clipped on the arrow and slung the case over her shoulder.

"What am I missing?" She asked herself as she looked around the room. "A katana!" She said as she ran to the opposite of the room. An array of Katanas, knives, machetes, and other things of the likeness, lay out before her. "Hhhmm having to carry a katana seems like I'd be over carrying things but then again who said I was going to carry all these things?" She had in mind to take one of vehicles stored in the next room over. "I guess I'll take one." She looked around and something caught her eye. It was a katana with a black blade. "Interesting." She said as she took the katana and examined it closely. It was a double-edged sword and the blade was in between 3 to 4 feet long. She began to swing it around to get a feel for the sword. She liked the sound it made when it slice through the air. "This one will suffice." She said. Now she had to find a sheath for it. There were many designs and sizes to pick from. She picked on out with blue dragons curling around each other on the black background. She decided to put her things in the chair so she wouldn't have to carry it around the room. There was one more thing she wanted to get, she wanted it more than she needed it.

"Now I know he has some chain-scythes around here somewhere." She said as she looked around. She spotted them in the far left corner of the room. There was in particular one she wanted. It stuck out to her like black on white. One of the scythe blades was black, while the other was white; it was connected by a silver chain. The handles where wrapped in black and white tape. She took it off the shelf. The blades were about one and a half feet long. She decided to try it out. She threw the right scythe and waited about three seconds before she yanked the chain back, she caught it with ease. The chain was about thirteen feet long. She smirked as she put them in a black rectangular case. Thing about this particular chain scythe was that it was electric. On each handle there was a button that would either shorten or lengthen the chain. Luckily it didn't need any batteries or anything like that. She smiled to herself, happy that it was still there. Then all the sudden the alarms went off. Someone was trying to get inside.

"Tch." She said as she ran to the computer where she began to type furiously. A window popped up and showed different parts of the manor. She growled to herself. The place was being infested by these monsters, by zombies. She knew they wouldn't be able to break in through the door but if she waited any longer she might not be able to get out. She ran to her things and grabbed a couple of last minute weapons. She went into the next room over. The lights switched on to reveal an army of vehicles. She didn't have much time to have to really think which one to choose, she was going to pick by the looks of the vehicle. She walked through the rows of vehicles taking a glance at each one. She needed to pick one towards the exit of the garage or she wouldn't be able to get out. There were ten to pick from. They all looked like campers but they weren't, they were the latest in army vehicle technology. These things could reach over 200 mph, they make almost no noise and all have a small inventory of weapons inside. Let's not forget the computer with the army database and unlike campers it runs on very little gas. She decided to pick the one in camouflage; the keys were already inside the vehicle. She put her things down and walked right back out the vehicle. She went to the computer on the side of the wall. She pulled up the security cameras and checked the outside of the garage. There were a few zombies but they weren't close enough to get in. She grabbed the control to open the garage and the front gates and ran back to the vehicle. She pulled on her seat belt and turned on the vehicle. She pushed the button and the garage started to open.

"Come on, hurry up." She said as the zombies started to head towards the garage. She didn't wait for it to open completely before she stepped on the gas. She just barely managed to clear it and she pushed the button to close it before half of the vehicle was out. She ran over the zombies and headed towards the east gates; no zombies had gathered there yet. She sped down the path running over zombies as she went, she pushed the button to open up the gates and as soon as she was out she closed them. She drove down the street at an alarming speed. She checked the time it was 4:30. It was later than she had thought. She had to find some place to stay.

"If I go out into the outskirts I can find a place to hide this thing." She thought to herself as she continued to drive. She had to reach one of the bridges to get out of the central area; she had to do it now while she had the chance. She knew that if she waited too long the bridge would fill it up and it would be a mess. She was coming up close to the bridge that was filled with zombies.

"Damn it."

She pressed on the gas even more.

"Here goes everything." She said as she turned out to the bridge. She began to run over the zombies like they were rag dolls. She strained her eyes to try to see through the crowd of them. It wasn't until the last minute that she had realized she was about to crash into a wall. She changed gears and pressed on the breaks. She barely managed to avoid the wall but she was now driving on the side wheels. She leaned to the opposite side trying to get it back on all the wheels. After jerking a bit it worked. She sighed in relief as she changed the gears and began to drive normally. She then realized something very important. The vehicle was running on nothing.

"Arg!" She said. She had forgotten that her father doesn't fill them up until he needs to use them. She had to find a gas station that wasn't infested by zombies. She would rather do it now before it gets any darker. She passed several gas stations but they were all flooded by zombies. She finally found one that was zombie free but by then the moon was already out. She parked the vehicle towards the ones in the back and turned off the engine. She knew there was some spare money hidden in the glove compartment. She took it out and counted it. It was well over 80 million yen. She smirked as she pulled out 3,000 yen. She made sure she looked all around before she stepped out the vehicle. She fed the money into the self-pay machine and began to fill up to vehicle with gas. About halfway through, she heard the alarms from the store go off. "What the…" She said.

"Shit, the sound is going to attract the zombies." She thought.

She went inside and grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on, the happened to be the sword. She grabbed the keys and locked the vehicle. She snuck her way towards the front of the gas station which had more light than the back. She looked around to see a motorcycle at one of the pumps. Then she saw a girl wearing a school uniform with light brown hair, two strands stuck out above the rest. It was her, the girl, the girl that she's come to hate along with Takashi.

"I could kill her and no one would care, no one would notice." She thought as she began to get closer to the girl with a murderous intent. She heard footsteps and receded back into the shadows. She watched closely as she saw a man take the girl hostage and the girl screamed.

"How annoying."

Then someone came running out the gas station.

"Rei!"

"Takashi?" Meyrin looked closer, she was right it was Takashi. She watched as he tried to get Rei back. "He's about as useless as her." She looked around and noticed that the zombies were getting closer. She was tempted to leave them to die but she couldn't, it wasn't in her to leave someone to die. She made her way quietly behind the man. He was going on about how he had to kill his parents and how he needed a woman if he wanted to survive.

"Humans are so annoying." She said as she bashed him in the head with the hilt of her katana. He let go of the girl and fell unconscious. "They attract more danger than they can handle." She said in a cold tone of voice.

"Meyrin." Takashi said surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to stop the noise, it attracts the zombies." She growled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to do than deal with the likes of you."

"Hey! Don't talk to Takashi like that!" Rei said.

Meyrin took a glance at the girl "You should be grateful I decided to save you and not leave all three of you as food for the zombies." Takashi and Rei looked around and realized that they were being closed in by the zombies.

"Takashi…" Rei said.

"Now like I said, I have more important things to deal with." Meyrin said turning away from them.

"Wait!" Takashi said.

"What?" Meyrin said coldly.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"That doesn't concern you." Meyrin said as she walked off.

"It does." Takashi said as he grabbed her wrist.

Meyrin narrowed her eyes at him "Let go."

"How are you going to get out of here? You only have a sword." He said ignoring her.

"Let go or I won't hesitate in killing you both." She grolwed.

Takashi's eyes widen the slightest bit "Who are you? What happened to the Meyrin I used to know?"

"You killed her." She said as she yanked her hand out of his grip. "And if you don't want the same to happen to that girl I suggest you leave me alone."

Takashi then slapped Meyrin. "Leave her out of this." He growled. Meyrin brought her hand up to where he slapped her. Anger began to flow through her veins. She then punched him in his gut pushing him back. She didn't stop there she round house kicked him but he blocked it. She then did a 360 and kicked his other side. Immediately after that she upper cut him and then used the sword and jabbed his stomach again causing him to fall.

"So first you kiss me and know you've decided to slap me?" Meyrin said as she stomped on his chest pinning him down. "You need to learn your place."

"Leave him alone!" Rei said as she charged at Meyrin.

"You should learn your place too." Meyrin said as she unsheathed the sword and pointed it right at Rei's neck before she got any closer. Rie froze in place as the sword just barely dug into her skin drawing a bit of blood. Meyrin glanced around to see that the zombies were too close. She put the sword back in its place "Don't come near me again." She said as she walked away, leaving the two. She went over to the pump she had parked, there were a couple of zombies there.

"Tch, how bothersome." She said as she took the sword out and sliced all their head off. She decided to hurry up and wrap everything up before more of the zombies came. Once she was done she drove off hitting a zombie every once in a while. She yawned "I'm tired." She said to herself. She was going to find a forest or something that had enough trees to hide the vehicle. After about ten minutes of searching she found a patch of trees where she could hide the vehicle. She drove into it and turned off the vehicle. She sighed as she stood up and locked the doors and brought down the curtains. She went in the back where there were a couple of bunks she laid down in the first one. She stared into the darkness for a couple of minutes and before she knew it she was asleep.


	4. Kikyo

The next day came too soon for Meyrin. She got up wearily and stretched. She needed to shower, she reeked of blood. A bathroom was probably the only thing that the vehicle missed. She went up to the front of the vehicle and opened up one of curtains, it seemed clear. She opened up the rest of them. The sun shone through the trees making it look like a nature scene you would see in a movie. She remembered seeing a couple of houses on the way there.

"**They should be within walking distance, it shouldn't take me more than five minutes to get there and while I'm there I can gather food and clothes."**

She thought as she went grabbed her bag. She pulled out the Bretta and an extra clip. Then she went to a small closet. She opened it and in it there was a black turtle neck sweater, a bullet proof vest, black cargo pants, black ankle-high boots, a utility belt and a smaller bag than the one she had with her. She pulled them all out and put them in the smaller bag and put the extra clip in there too. She then put it on her back and grabbed the keys and stuffed them in a small pocket. Then she went out of the vehicle as quietly as she could. She looked around carefully before she started walking, once she deemed it safe, she began to run. At the end of the street she took a right and entered a neighborhood. She looked around.

"**So far so good."**

There were no cars in any of the houses so she went into the first house on her right. She turned the knob, luckily it was left open. She went inside, everything seemed normal. No dead bodies on the ground or a glass or anything else. She closed the door behind her making sure it was locked.

"**I'll take a shower first then I'll look around for food." **She thought as she headed down the hallway. There were three doors one on each side of the hallway and one at the end. She decided to check the one at the end; it looked the place where a bathroom would be. She was right. She went in and locked the door behind her. The bathroom was nice, it had a black and white color scheme. The floor was white tile and the walls where black tile. The bathroom curtains were white with the ying and yang sign scattered on it. It was a nice, she liked the design. She opened the small closet to her right and stored inside was a variety of towels and bed sheets. She took out one of the blue towels and set down her things. She stripped down and turned on the water, she was going to take a cold shower so she could fully wake up. She stepped into the cold water and shivered at the feel of it against her skin. She stood there for a bit trying to get used to the water.

"**I wonder what happened to the people in this house. Did they leave this morning? Or did they leave and not make it back?" **She shook off the thought knowing that if she thought about it too long she would get depressed. She hurried up and washed off making sure to get the smell off. When she was done and started to dry herself off she realized that she didn't have any under garments.

"**Of course I would forget that."**

She thought as she grabbed her gun and made sure the towel was tied securely around her and went out the bathroom. She went into the room to the right, it was the master bedroom. She spotted the dressed in the left corner of the room. She raided it and found plenty amount of under garments and other clothes. She decided to stock up on clothes while she could. They seemed a little big but it wouldn't affect her much. After she grabbed a handful of clothes she went back to the bathroom. She changed into the clothes in her book bag and folded the one that she had retrieved and put it in the book bag. She then looked for a hair dryer to dry her hair. She searched high and low but couldn't find one so she decided to just leave it as it was, but made sure she brought a couple of hair ties and a hair brush. Once she was done with that she headed out the bathroom with her gun in hand. She decided to look in the room to the left. She opened it up and heard some music playing, like a lullaby. The room she had entered was a baby's room and by the load of pink on the walls it was a girl. She felt kind of sad knowing that baby could be dead. She went into the room wanting to take a look around. There was a cradle in the right corner and to the left was a changing station. In a chest she suspected there were toys and things like that. In the closet were probably her clothes. Then she heard something move, it was coming from the cradle. She stood still and listened again thinking that she had only imagined it. This time it was a different noise, the sound a child yawning. Her eyes widen as she ran to the cradle. The baby was still there and there was a note on the side of the cradle.

To whomever it may concern:

If you find our child please take care of her. Her name is Kikyo and she's only a few months old. We couldn't take her with us there was enough money for the three of us to get out of the state. So if you find her and she is still alive please take care of her.

Thank you.

Meyrin looked at the note then at the infant. She couldn't believe that the parents would just leave the child., it was just inhuman. However she had to make a choice now, she could either take the child or leave them hoping that someone would find her. She looked at the small, frail child; still dressed in her pink pajamas. She couldn't leave her; she wasn't like the infant's parents. She opened the closet and began to put in the baby's clothes inside her bag. She needed another bag. She found a bag beside the changing station. She opened it up to see a couple of diapers, a bottle, blanket, and powdered milk. She took the bag and looked around for more diapers. She found a unopened packet and put it inside the bag, she also found a pacifier, and a doll. That all went in the bag, she made sure that she had enough space to put in the milk and food. Then she looked around for something that she could put the child in that would be easy to move with and that could protect her too.

"**This is too much for me to carry. I'm going to have to come and get the R.V" **She thought. She also needed a car seat for the child. She went over to the baby that was now awake and looking at her with green eyes.

"Okay, Kikyo, we're going out to get the R.V." Meyrin said as she picked up the baby. "I'm going to put you in the carrier/book bag thing." She said as she put her in and made sure she was in safely. She grabbed the things she had put in the bags and brought them to the living room. She also made sure to already have the food the baby and herself needed. In the R.V there was a refrigerator so that was good. She also found the stroller for the baby. She put the bags and food on it. Then she grabbed the keys and gun and headed out, making sure the door was unlocked but closed.

"Okay, Kikyo, let's try not to make a lot of noise." She said as she put the pacifier in the child's mouth. Since she couldn't really run she sped walked back to the vehicle. She made sure she checked before she turned the corner and kept on edge. She heard something rustling in the bushes. She stepped away from them and held the gun towards the bushes. She didn't stop walking however, she kept going. She glanced at the R.V to see exactly how far away she was. That's when she noticed the zombies around it.

"**Fuck." **She thought. She didn't want to shoot the gun, fearing that it would make the child cry and attract more zombies. There was only about three of them but they were blocking the door. She looked around for something to throw to drag their attention away from the R.V. She found a beer bottle a couple of feet away from her. She crouched down to pick it up and the child reached for it.

"No, no, this isn't milk." Meyrin whispered. She looked stood up and pulled her arm back, she was going to throw it into the bushes and hope that it would break. She threw it with all her force and it flew beyond the bushes.

"**Probably should have held back a bit…" **She thought as she watched it fly out of her view. Then she heard the glass break. The zombies the turned and went towards the glass. Meyrin then jogged to the R.V and tried not to make the baby bounce as much as possible. She then grabbed the keys and went into the R.V and locked the doors. She sighed in relief as she sat down in the driver's seat.

"Phew, we made it out alive." Meyrin said to Kikyo. She turned on the R.V and headed back to the house. However what happened next she didn't see coming. Once she turned the corner onto the street, a swarm of zombies was heading towards the sound of the glass that had broken. "Curses." She said. They hadn't reached the house yet but they were shuffling at a steady pace and it wouldn't be too long before they got there. She had to think of something quick. She looked at the house then at the zombies and vice versa. Then the idea hit her. She was going to drive up to the house so that the R.V's door was facing the house's door. That was as far as she had gotten but it was enough to build upon. She drove the R.V to the house like she planned. She stood up and went to the back where the bunks where. She took Kikyo out of the carrier and laid her down on the bed.

"Kikyo I'm going to get our things. I'll be in a bit just as you stay quiet." Meyrin said and took off the carrier. Then she switched out her gun for the chain-scythes. She went out the R.V and looked to see how far the zombies where. They were a good distance away and didn't seem to be heading towards the house but she was going to hurry anyway. She closed the door but not completely, she didn't want to risk the sound. Then she went into the house where her pile of things was sitting. She grabbed the stroller with the bags on it and hurried back to the R.V She got in and cracked the door and went back inside. She grabbed the car seat with the toys inside and went put that in the R.V. She looked down the street; the zombies were almost passing them which was good. She ran back inside the house to make sure that was all. She searched the cabinets once more then ran around the house. She went in to the main bedroom and looked around there. She didn't need anything else and ran out into the hallway and just as she did, the house phone rang.

"Shit, shit, shit." She said as she ran out the house. The zombies were really close to the R.V. She grabbed the chain-scythe and threw the scythe at one of the zombies head, decapitating it. She pulled it back and did it two more times. She then opened the door to the R.V and slammed it shut. She ran to Kikyo to make sure she was okay. She was still there, safe and sound. She sighed in relief but started hearing the zombies banging against the R.V. She grabbed Kikyo and put her in the car seat. On the sides on the R.V there were seats; she placed the car seat there and made sure it was secured properly. Then stuffed the food in the refrigerator that way it won't be flying all over the place. Then she put the stroller and the bags in one of the bunks. Then she ran to the front seat and turned the R.V on.

"Get ready for the ride of your life, Kikyo." Meyrin said as she changed gears and slammed her foot on the gas. The R.V's wheels burned the pavement as she drove off at alarming speeds, running over the zombies like crazy. She had the windshield wipers on, because every once in a while a zombie would stick to the windshield. The baby in the back was squealing and laughing like this was a roller coaster.

"Having fun there?" Meyrin asked as she glanced at the mirror to look at the baby. The baby laughed in response. "Good to know." Myerin said smiling. Finally after running over about one hundred zombies they made it out of the swarm. Then Meyrin sprayed the windshield with water so the blood would wash off. "Alright we made it out of the swarm alive!" Meyrin baby squealed in response. Meyrin laughed a bit at how the baby would respond. "We'll find a place to stop and get everything organized and eat." Meyrin then reached and turned on the radio. The song "Tonight, Tonight." Was playing. Meyrin sang along as the baby laughed in giggled in the back seat. After a bit she found a vacant parking lot behind an abandoned factory. She drove into it and stayed parked the car close to the factory. She turned off the car and went into the back to get Kikyo out of the car seat. "Come on you're probably hungry." She then went to the refrigerator and took out the baby food. Luckily she thought about spoons and plates before she left, she grabbed a spoon. She sat down at the small table with the child in her arms. She opened the jar of baby food and scooped up a spoonful of it.

"Okay here comes the train." Meyrin said as she moved the spoon around a bit before she fed the child. Feeding the child was more fun than Meyrin had expected. Once she was done she looked for something for her to eat. She decided to make a sandwich. She put the baby in the carrier and let her watch as she made herself a sandwich.

"Food, how much I've missed you." Meyrin said as she took a bite of her sandwich. The baby reached out and tried to grab it. "Hold on, you're not ready for sandwiches yet." Meyrin said as she took another bite. Once she was done she put a towel on her shoulder and began to pat the baby. Back when she was studying in Europe, they had taught her about being a housewife and how to take care of babies. The reason for her patting her back was for the baby to burp, to put it simply. It should take at the least fifteen minutes and at the most thirty. She did it for twenty three minutes.

"Alright I bet you're ready to change." Meyrin said as she held the child up. The baby squealed and laughed. Meyrin smiled and took the baby to the bunk where she had the clothes and stroller. She moved the stroller out the way and put laid Kikyo on the bed. She opened up the bag and looked for something for Kikyo to wear. She found a pink shirt with a butterfly on it and blue jeans with small flowers on the right side. She set those apart along with a diaper and the baby wipes. Then she folded everything back neatly into the bag. Once she was done with that she changed the baby which luckily wasn't too much of a bother.

"There now don't you look like the cutest thing ever." Meyrin said happily. They baby reached out for Meyrin's hair. "Yes that is my hair and I would rather if you didn't pull it out." She said and decided to put the baby back in the carrier while she organized everything. However she was going to put her hair up now that it was dry. Afterwards the first thing she wanted to do was get the clothes in its appropriate place. She went to the closet where she got the turtle neck and cargo pants. There was she was going to hang up most the clothes. There were bins where she was going to put her under garments and also put the diapers and a few more things for Kikyo. Then she headed to the fridge. She put the fruit and vegetables in the bins at the bottom then put everything else on the firs shelf. After that she decided to move the stroller and bags into the closet with the clothes.

"Okay I think that's it." Meyrin said as she looked around the R.V. "Yeah it'll do for now." She took Kikyo out of the carrier and took it off herself as she sat down on the sofa. "I wonder if the TV works." She said as she opened up a small compartment in the sofa. Inside there was a remote control and four cup holders. She pressed the on button and from the other side of the R.V a small compartment opened up and a flat screen appeared. The TV turned on and she switched over to the news.

"The traffic at all four bridges are like never before." The reporter said.

"Why are they going to the center? That's where it all started, they're all gonna die." Meyrin said.

"When do you think this is going to clear up?" The anchor asked.

"From the looks of it, it could take days even weeks and as you can see the police are doing everything they can to keep peace and order. They're also making a thorough check of everyone and everything."

"What exactly are they checking for?" The anchor asked.

"

They're making sure that no one with a bite is getting by, also they're checking for proof of your identity…"

Meyrin turned off the TV. "It won't be too long before they want money for you to get through and even when you do the chances of them surviving is really low. Then before long they'll only want the important people of society." Kikyo was now trying to eat Meyrin's fingers. "Well we don't have to worry about that." Meyrin said as she removed her fingers from Kikyo's grip. "We won't be heading there anyway and if we ever do... I'm part of one of the richest families, everyone probably thinks me and my family are dead though. Oh well, we'll just get creative."

Then she heard banging against the R.V. She stayed still and listened closely, there wasn't any voices just banging.

"Well I guess we should get going." She said as she stood up and put Kikyo back in the car seat. She went into the driver's seat and started the car back up. There weren't as many zombies as there were in the swarm from earlier but it was still a decent amount. She stepped on the gas and drove over the zombies and out of the factory. She glanced at the radio; it was 5:00 already.

"Wow it's this late already?! Have I been moving in slow motion?!" She turned the corner and the street was clear. She sighed as she remembered that the city changed. She had no idea where she was going. "Great, just great." She said. "You wouldn't happen to know where we are?" She asked as she looked at the mirror to see that Kikyo was asleep. She smiled softly at the sight. "Well I guess I'll just have to figure it out myself." She said as she continued driving, after a while the sun began to set and she found herself near the bridges; the exact place she didn't want to be. As she drove by she saw a couple of students fighting off a crowd of zombies; they weren't doing too well.

"Well I ain't got anything better to do." Meyrin said as she drove over some of the zombies. The she stopped, making sure she had the keys and her chain-scythe before leaving the R.V, then ran out to help them.

"Looks like you guys could use some help." Meyrin said as she threw the chain scythe at one of the zombies.

"Yes, thank you." A girl with black hair and blue eyes that was fighting with a sword said.

"No problem." Meyrin said as she took out another zombie. Then out of nowhere a motorcycle came zooming by. "The fuck!?" Meyrin said.

The girl with the sword smirked. "About time." She said.

Meyrin then heard a zombie hissing. She turned around in time to see one jumping at her. She brought up the chain-scythe in her other hand and sliced off its head. She busied herself with the rest of the zombies surrounding her. It didn't take too long though since she was working with the chain-scythes. Then she killed the ones that were getting too close to the guy using the gun.

"Thanks." He said.

"Don't mention it." She said as she finished off the last couple zombies there.

"Oh thank you soo much!" A woman with blond hair said as she tackled her.

"Uhm… your boobs are suffocating me." Meyrin said.

"Oh I'm sorry!" The woman said as she let go of her.

"By the way I'm Shizuka Marikawa." She said.

"I'm Meyrin Akashi."

"I'm Kohta Hirano." The boy who was wielding the guns said.

"I'm Saya Takago." A girl with pink pigtails said.

"It was really nice to meet you all but I have to go back to the R.V" Meyrin said.

"Wait!" The girl with the sword said.

"Huh?" Meyrin said as she turned to face her and right behind her was Takashi and Rei. Her eyes instantly narrowed. "I'm sorry but I can't stay any longer I have someone in the R.V waiting for me."

"Meyrin, what are you doing here?" Takashi growled.

"Saving you friends." Meyrin replied.

"They don't need you to save them." He scowled.

"If that were true, then I wouldn't be here, now would I?"

"Takashi!" The girl yelled. "Enough! I don't know what your problem is but she did just save us!"

He scowled and looked away.

"Look I'm really sorry but I really have to get back to the R.V." Meyrin said glancing back to make sure everything was okay.

"I know but please I have a favor to ask."

Meyrin turned her attention back to her. "What?"

"Can you please take us with you?" She asked.

"What?" Meyrin, Rei, and Takashi asked in unison.

"I know it sounds really troublesome but we have a place to stay right around the corner. You can stay with us for the night and freshen up and gather supplies. From there we'll be fine… just please make us this favor." She said bowing her head.

Meyrin stood there thinking. She really didn't want to be anywhere near Takashi much less Rei but she couldn't just leave them out here, plus they did offer her a place to rest and a place to gather supplies. It wasn't a bad idea, plus she would have more protection for Kikyo.

Meyrin sighed "Fine, let's go."

"Thank you." She said as she straighten up. "My name is Saeko Busujima, at your service."

"Meyrin Akashi, now let's go, I have someone in the R.V waiting for me." Meyrin said as she ran to the R.V. She unlocked the door and let everyone else in. Once Shizuka was in she made sure there were no zombies and went in closing the door behind her. The group was talking and Meyrin was worried they would wake Kikyo.

"Hey!" Meyrin whispered. They all turned to her. "Please keep your voices down." She said as she made her way through the crowd to wear the baby was sleeping in the car seat. She sighed as she took her out the seat and held her in her arms.

"You have a child?" Takashi blurted out.

"Yes, I found her while I was looking for supplies." Meyrin said softly as she gazed at the child. "Now where is this place?"

"It's not too far from here; I can drive if you want." Shizuka offered.

"That would be a great help." Meyrin said. "The keys are in the right bottom pocket of my pants."

Shizuka took the keys and went to the front. "Everyone buckle up please." She said.

"I'm going to be in the back if anyone needs anything and please keep your voices down." Meyrin said as she headed to the bunks.

Saeko nodded her head "Thank you once again."

"Don't mention it and if anyone wants to rest in these bunks feel welcomed to. There's some food and water in the fridge, if anyone is hungry or thirsty." She said as she went into the bunk.

"She's very kind." Saeko said.

"Ha, yeah right, you weren't almost killed by her." Rei said.

"What do you mean?" Saya asked

"Last night me and Takashi met up with her at a gas station and nearly killed us both. She has like some grudge against us. I don't even know who she is. I say we leave her." Rei said.

"Is this true?" Saeko asked.

"Yeah but she did save Rei from a kidnapper." Takashi admitted.

"Only to want to kill me." Rei growled.

"There has to be some reason behind why she has a grudge." Kohato said.

"There is." Takashi said. They all turned to him and waited for his response. "It's a long story and I don't want to bring it up unless she wants to."

What they didn't know was that Meyrin was listening the whole time. "**It's not a long story at all you lair." **Meyrin thought to herself as she cradles the child. She took in a deep breath not wanting to upset herself or put anyone else in a bad mood.

"Everyone we're here." Shizuka called. Kikyo stirred a bit.

"Shhh." Meyrin said softly as she began to rock the baby.

"Meyrin." Saeko said as she opened the curtain. "We're here."

"Yes, I'm coming." Meyrin said as she stepped out. "Can you do me a favor and open the closet and pull out the baby bag."

"Yes of course." Saeko said as she did as Meyrin asked her to.

"Can you put in a couple of diapers in there, clothes for her and for me, and a baby bottle with milk in it and a jar or two of baby food." Meyrin said.

"Okay." Saeko said as she began to organize the things. Meyrin took a blanket and wrapped it around Kikyo.

"Ready?" Saeko asked.

"Yes." Meyrin said

"Let's go then, everyone is already inside." Saeko said as she exited the R.V."

"Does Shizuka have the keys?" Meyrin asked as she stepped out of the R.V and a blast of cold wind hit her face.

"Yes."

Meyrin locked the doors and the two girls headed into the apartment looking house. "This is nice."

"It is, would you like to take a shower with us?" Shizuka asked.

"I'll take a shower once you have finished, but thank you for the offer." Meyrin said smiling.

"Come on let's go Saeko." Shizuka said as she dragged her off with the other group of girls. Meyrin took hold of the bag and decided to find a room where Kikyo could sleep. She went up the spiral stair case. Once at the top there was only one door in the hallway. She opened it and found herself in a master bedroom and sitting on the floor were Takashi and Kohato.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know you guys were using this room." Meyrin said.

"No, no it's fine." Kohato said standing up. "You probably need this room more than we do, all we'll be doing is getting some things from this closet then standout on the balcony as look outs, right Takashi?"

"Yeah." Takashi said as he stood up but didn't look at Meyrin.

"Oh well okay, I'll just wait down stairs then." Meyrin said as she headed back down the stairs. She sat down on the sofa in silence way she rocked Kikyo gently. Then she heard squeals from the bathroom. Meyrin raised an eyebrow.

"**What in the world is they doing in there?" **Meyrin thought as she listened to the squeals. Then Kikyo began stir a bit.

"Shhh." Meyrin whispered as she rocked her a bit more. Kikyo continued to stir and was on the verge on waking up. Meyrin stood up and began to walk around as she tried to rock Kikyo back to sleep but her attempts were useless. She decided to see if upstairs would be any better. She went up the stars and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Kohato chimed.

Meyrin opened the door. "Can I stay here, it's getting really loud down stairs and Kikyo is waking up." Kohato was inside the room holding two guns and Takashi was out on the balcony.

"Kikyo?" Kohato asked.

"Yeah, Kikyo, the baby I'm taking care of." Meyrin said as she closed the door behind her.

"Oh! Well we're done here and we're going to be on lookout duty so feel free to do anything you like." Kohato said. "We promise we won't look." A sly smile appeared on his face.

"… right… uhm… well okay…" Meyrin said as she sat on the bed kind of awkwardly.

"We'll be outside if you need anything." He said and walked out closing the glass door. Kikyo calmed down and was falling back to sleep. Meyrin laid Kikyo on the bed so she would be more comfortable. Even there she could hear the muffled squeals of the girls in the bathroom.

Meyrin sighed "**And that is why I take showers alone."**

After a couple of minutes Meyrin began to feel sleepy, she would catch herself closing her eyes ever couple of minutes. However she didn't feel safe falling asleep, more like she didn't want to fall asleep until everyone else was. She didn't like people watching her sleep, she found it weird. So she forced herself to stay up and keep watch over Kikyo, she didn't want her to roll off the bed or accidently roll on top of her. Meyrin sat up in the bed and tried to shake off the sleep. Then all of the sudden the group of girls burst into the room as loud as they could, startling Meyrin. They were laughing and looked like they had been drinking, they had the towels draped over their bodies and were probably looking for clothes to change it to.

"Meyrin!" Shizuka said as she stumbled over to the bed. "You missed all the fun."

"Please keep your voices down, Kikyo is sleeping." Meyrin said.

"Kikyo?" The group of girls asked in unison.

"The baby I saved…"

"Ohhh, that's her name? It's such a pretty name." Shizuka said.

"Please don't mind us we're just here for clothes and we'll be out of your way." Saeko said as she pulled Shizuka away from the bed.

"Okay, but I suggest you change down stairs, Kohato and Takashi are outside on the balcony." Meyrin said.

Saeko nodded and the girls went into the closet that strikingly didn't have much clothes. Afterwards the group went back downstairs talking and giggling. Sadly the noise woke up Kikyo and she began to cry. Meyrin picked her up and to rock her gently but Kikyo kept crying.

"Shhh, shh, it's okay." Meyrin whispered. After a couple of minutes of rocking her and not succeeding Takashi came in.

"Hey Kohato said to get her to stop crying." Takashi said avoiding Meyrin's eyes.

"I know, I just have to get her things from downstairs but the girls down there are drunk and will only make the situation worse." Meyrin said as she continued to rock the baby.

"I'll go get her things, where is it?" Takashi asked as he awkwardly waddled to the door.

"It's on the sofa in a pale green bag; just bring the whole bag with you."

"Okay." Takashi said as he headed down the stairs. As he went down the spiral stair case he could hear the girls giggling and squealing. However what he saw next was something he didn't expect. The group of girls being halfway undressed, if they had clothes on at all. Takashi face turn red and he was on the verge of a nosebleed. He stopped moving and just stood there, not really knowing what to do.

Meyrin paced around upstairs with Kikyo crying in her arms. "Damn it! How long does it take to get one bag?!" Meyrin said as she marched out the room. She went down the stairs and saw Takashi just standing there. Just as she was about to speak up she noticed what he was drooling over, the group of half-naked girls. Meyrin was enraged, she stomped down the stairs pushing Takashi down to the ground with her free arm.

"Damn useless pervert." She growled as she went down to the sofa and grabbed the bag. Everyone fell silent as they watched her go back up the stairs and slam the door shut.


	5. Saving Alice

Slamming the door probably wasn't the smartest thing to do but she was mad, very mad. Kikyo was now crying her lungs out. Kohota came into the room worriedly.

"What is going on?" He asked.

"Nothing just do me a favor and… on second thought just take care of Kikyo I'll do the rest myself." She said as she gave Kikyo to Kohota.

"Wait… I don't know…"

"Just rock her in your arms lightly and don't drop her. I will kill you." Meyrin said as she raided the back for the powdered milk and baby bottle.

"O-okay." He said as he watched her leave the room. Halfway down the stairs she felt a bit awkward but she kept up the façade that she was still angry. Everyone watched in silence as she went into the kitchen. She measured out the milk and put filled the baby bottle with water, then she put it in a microwave for about a minute, it was the longest minute of her life. She felt like the gazes were burning at the back of her head. She shifted uncomfortably as she stood by the microwave and tried her best to not glance back. Finally, the microwave beeped and she took out the bottle and tested the warmth, it was hot. She opened the refrigerator and grabbed an ice cube and broke off a piece and put it into the bottle of milk to let it cool a bit. Then she ate the other half, let's just say she likes ice cubes. Then she went back out and back up the stairs. Once she closed the door she sighed in relief.

"She won't stop crying!" Kohota complained.

"I know, give her to me." She said as she took Kikyo from his arms. She shook the bottle one last time before feeding it to her. Kikyo started to settle down as she drank the milk. Meyrin sighed.

"Do you need anything else?" Kohota asked.

"No, it's fine you can go back outside." She said as she sat on the bed.

"Okay, if you need anything just give me a call." He said as walked out.

"Don't worry I will." Meyrin said with a smile. Kohota smiled as he closed the door. Meyrin was about ready to collapse on the bed but with Kikyo still in her arms she kept herself sitting up straight. She waited patiently for Kikyo to finish her milk and fall asleep. It only took fifteen minutes but those fifteen minutes seemed like hours to Meyrin. Finally when Kikyo was asleep Meyrin laid back in the bed and kept Kikyo in her arms.

"Sooo tired." She mumbled as she looked up at the ceiling. She looked out the window to see Kohota standing guard. "Well maybe just a small nap won't hurt." Meyrin said as she closed her eyes and began to drift to sleep. She didn't fall completely asleep; she was in the half awake state, where she could still hear what was going on around her surroundings but still was on the verge of entering the dream state. Just as she was about to enter the dream state she heard a very faint sound but as the seconds passed it became clearer; it was a dog barking. Hey eyes snapped open and she put Kikyo down on the bed as gently as she could. She knew that if the dog continued barking then this place would be swarmed with zombies. Meyrin went out onto the balcony.

"Shut the dog up or we'll be swarmed by zombies." Meyrin said.

"It's too late for that." Kohota said.

"What?!" Meyrin said as she went to the edge where she could get a better look. He was right the place was swarmed with zombies. "Damn it! Why didn't you shoot it?!"

"It's a dog!"

"Tch." Meyrin said as she took the gun out of Kohota's hands. "Fine then." She aimed then gun and as she fired the gun someone tilted it just enough for her to miss. She turned around to see Takashi. "What the hell did you do that for?!"

"Are you stupid?! If you missed you would have hit the girl." Takashi said.

"I don't miss." Meyrin growled.

"What do you think you are?! Perfect?!"

Meyrin's grip on the gun tighten, she took aim at again and fired at ten zombies that were swarming the girl down. "Maybe."

Takashi's eyes widen the slightest bit.

"Here." Meyrin said as she threw the gun back at Kohota. "We need to get that girl." She said as she went inside.

"With that many zombies?" Saeko asked.

Her clothing wasn't very… well appropriate. "Saeko." Meyrin said as she rubbed her temples.

"Yes?"

"What are you wearing?"

"Oh… well there was no clothes so… this is what I had to cope with."

Meyrin sighed. "Okay whatever; let's just get this over with."

"So you're really going to fight off all the zombies? There are so many."

"Of course, it wouldn't be any fun if there were any less." Meyrin said smiling evilly and the atmosphere around her almost became demonic.

"What about Kikyo?" Kohota asked.

"Don't worry I have a plan." Meyrin said as she stepped inside. "Round everyone up and bring them up here, everyone has a role to play." Saeko nodded and headed down the stairs.

"What are you planning?" Takashi asked.

"You'll see." Meyrin said smirking as she sat on the edge of the bed and crossed her legs.

"I won't let you do anything that puts them in danger." Takashi said.

She chuckled "Don't worry if anything, you'll be the one in danger."

He looked at her like she was some sort of demon. She only smiled in reply. The group of girls came up and Shizuka was still half asleep.

"What's going on?" Shizuka asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"We're going on a mission to save a little girl surrounded by zombies." Saeko said.

"Yes and it's important you listen closely, I won't repeat myself." Meyrin said. They all nodded her head. "First things first make sure that what you're wearing is comfortable to fight in. Next, Shizuka you're going to be driving the R.V, Saya you're going to take care of Kikyo."

"Wait why me?" Saya asked.

"Because I'm going to be on the roof with Saeko and Kohota."

"Why can't Rei do it?"

"She's going to be in the front with Shizuka. Anyway enough with the questions we have to go now if we don't want that girl to die. Takashi you get to the girl."

"Wait how am I going to get there?" Takashi said.

"You jump on the roof of the houses." Meyrin said as she stood up.

"What? Are you crazy! What if I fall?"

"Then you'll just fall but don't worry we'll have people guarding your back but if you're too scared I could do it." Meyrin said with another smirk.

"I'm not scared! I just…" Takashi said.

"Just what?"

"Nothing where's my bat?"

"Hell if I know."

"I think I saw it down stairs." Rei said. "I'll go get it."

"Thanks." Takashi said as Rei ran down stairs.

"Okay so while Takashi is getting over to the girl Kohota will be on the balcony guarding his back. While that's happening we'll be getting stuff into the R.V. Once we're done we'll get into the R.V and everyone must have at least ONE weapon. Once that's said and done we'll get into the R.V and wing it from there."

"Sounds like a good plan to me." Kohota said.

"Then let's get this started. Kohota were there more guns in the closet?"

"Yeah." He said.

"Do me a favor and give one to everyone as you see fit." Meyrin said as she passed the group and went towards the door. "I'll be getting the things into the R.V"

"I'll go with you." Saeko said. "I have a sword, I don't need a gun."

Meyrin smiled "Alright let's go." As they went down the stairs they passed Rei on her way up. "Oi, kohota is gonna give you gun, take it and use it." Meyrin said as she continued on walking. Saeko and Meyrin went into the kitchen.

"Start gathering the food, I'll go open up the R.V." Meyrin said as she headed towards the front door. Saeko nodded as Meyrin exited the house. She went to the R.V and fished around in her pockets looking for the keys. Earlier she made sure to steal them back from Shizuka. She opened up the R.V silently and as she did she saw a shadow go over her. She looked up and saw Takashi jumping on the roof of the houses.

"**I hope he falls." **She thought as a smile spread across her face.

"Meyrin." Saeko called.

"Hm?" Meyrin said as she turned her attention to Saeko. She was holding a mountain of things

"Could you open the refrigerator for me?"

"Oh, yeah." Meyrin said as she went into the R.V and opened the refrigerator.

"Thanks." Saeko said as she began to put the things into the refrigerator.

"No problemo, anyway I'm gonna go inside and get some more food."

"Okay."

Meyrin went back into the house "Hey you guys hurry up!"

"We're coming!" Saya said as they came down the stairs.

"Go stand guard around the R.V" Meyrin said as she went into the kitchen.

"Okay." Saya said. "Come on Mrs. Shizuka."

"Coming." Shizuka chimed as they went out the door.

Meyrin opened up the refrigerator and grabbed everything she could. "Oh that's cold." She said as she headed out the kitchen.

"Need some help?" Saeko asked as she came into the house.

"No but get some of the stuff in the pantry and silverware." Meyrin said as she passed her. She heard a the gun fire a few times.

"**We should hurry."**

"Will do." Saeko said as she headed into the kitchen.

Meyrin went into the R.V and managed not to drop anything as she opened the refrigerator door. "Victory." She said as she began to stuff the food in. There was just enough space left for the gallon of milk. She ran back out the R.V and almost knocked down Saeko.

"Oh, sorry." Meyrin said.

"It's fine but where do you want me to put this stuff at?" Saeko asked.

"Uhm there should be cabinets in there somewhere and if you can't find them just put them in one of the bunks. Also do me a

favor and keep my chain-scythes on you." Meyrin said as she walked backwards toward the house.

"Okay." Saeko said.

Meyrin turned on her heels "Kohota! We're about to leave!" She said as she went back inside.

"Okay!" He said. She went in and grabbed the gallon of milk and also a couple of other food items. Then she ran back to the R.V stuffing them into the refrigerator. Then she stepped outside the R.V.

"Kohota let's go!" Meyrin said. "Jump off the balcony."

"What?!" He said.

"Then run!" Meyrin said. He nodded and scurried back inside. "Shizuka here take the keys." She said tossing to her. "Start the R.V"

"Right."

"Everyone else get in, I'm going to get Kikyo." Meyrin said as she ran back inside and passed Kohota.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"I'm getting Kikyo." Meyrin said as she ran up the stairs.

"Oh, right." Kohota said as he went ran outside. Meyrin reached up stairs and slung the baby bag over her shoulder. Then she gently picked up the sleeping baby and jogged back down the stairs.

"Come on!" Saya said.

"I'm coming!" Meyrin said as she jogged out the door. "Here take her and strap her into the baby seat." She said as she handed Kikyo to Saya. "Saeko, Kohota come here!" They came out the R.V "Come on." She said as she went to the back of the R.V "Close the door too." Kohota closed the door. In the back there was a ladder that went to the top of the R.V "Up you two go. Saeko stay down here so that if I can't grab the ladder as you guys pass you'll grab me." Saeko nodded her head and Kohota whet up the ladder. "There should be a place where you can strap yourself down."

"Okay." Kohota said as he went up. Meyrin ran to the gates and signaled them to get ready. She looked at the zombies that were already trying to get in. Opening the gate was going to be diffuclt. She was going to kick the gates open, she took a stance.

"DRIVE!" Meyrin yelled. Once she heard the R.V move she kicked the gates and they opened, pushing the zombies back a bit. As they were about to launch themselves at her the R.V zoomed by. Time seemed to slow down as she began to run beside it she jumped and reached for the ladder. One of her hands reached the ladder and the other was grabbed by Saeko. Time returned to its normal speed as they zoomed away.

"Do you think we'll be able to drive through all the zombies with this R.V?" Saeko asked as the climbed onto the roof and handed Meyrin her chain-scythes.

"This might look like a regular R.V but trust me this is a military vehicle." Meyrin said with a smirk. "But that doesn't mean we can have fun." She said as she went to the front of the vehicle but out of the way of the bullets. At the front there were dents where you could use as a foothold. She took a good stance and began to swing one of the scythes above her head. Then she threw the scythe to her left and it began to drag and slice the zombies. The first tug pulled her down a bit but thanks to the footholds she stayed on the roof. Once they turned the corner she spotted Takashi.

"Meyrin! Grab Takashi's hand and be careful not to let him drop the girl!" Saeko said.

"**Wonderful." **Meyrin thought as she brought her scythe back up and tied the chain around her waist. She dug her feet a little deeper into the footholds.

"Takashi! Jump!" Saeko said. Takashi jumped a bit before the R.V reached him; Meyrin extended both her hands out. She grabbed hold of his shirt and swung him behind her being mindful of the little girl that clung onto him for dear life.

"Watch the chain-scythes." Meyrin said as he landed behind her. "And I would love to have my arms back."

"As much as I would love to give them back I need them so I won't fall off the roof." He said.

"So?" Meyrin said. "If you fall I'm sure someone will come back to get you, but that someone won't be me."

"Like I would want you to save me anyway."

"I wasn't going to in the first place."

"Hey! If you two are going to argue do it quietly!" Saeko was a bit of silence as they began to plow through the zombies.

"Oi, I need my arms." Meyrin said.

"What for?" Takashi asked.

"To eat cake." She said with a bucket load of sarcasm. "What do you think I need them for? I need them to fend off some of these zombies!"

"Well sorry for asking." He said as he let go of her arms but as soon as he felt himself falling he brought his arms around her neck and part of her shoulders.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Meyrin yelled.

"Trying not to fall!"

"Can't you go somewhere else."

"Not when the R.V is moving."

"Arg! At least move your arms somewhere else so I can actually move mine." Meyrin growled.

"Where do I move them?"

"Hell I don't know! Figure it out."

"**Why does it have to be me? Why couldn't it be Saeko? She'd probably cope with this better."**

"Well unless you can think of somewhere to move them I'm not going to."

"Just wrap your arms around her waist! You guys are making a big deal out of nothing!" Saeko said.

"Do what now? I don't want his arms around my waist!" Meyrin said.

"Then deal with his arms around your shoulders and neck."

"Grrr, fine." Meyrin said. "Move your arms."

"You sure?"

"If you don't then you're going to fly off the R.V." Meyrin growled.

"Okay, okay." He said as he moved his arms and wrapped them around her waist. In honesty it was very awkward, for the both of them. Meyrin began to spin on of the scythes of above their heads then threw it down. This time it wasn't as much of a shock when it pulled on the chain. Then Meyrin had the sudden urge to sneeze.

"Achoo!"

"Bless you." Saeko said.

"Thanks."

After that they rode in silence, well besides Meyrin's sneezes. Why she was sneezing so much she didn't know. There weren't many trees or plants around or any fur animals and even if there were the R.V was moving so it would just zoom pass them. Finally they ended up in the parking lot of an empty Wal-Mart.

"Hey are you guys still alive?" Saya asked as she came out the R.V

"Yea we're fine." Saeko said as we began to climb down.

Meyrin sneezed again "Arg! Why am I sneezing so much?!" Then she heard a dog bark she snapped her head to the girl that was holding a dog. "Why is there a dog here?"

"What?" Takashi said.

"Why the hell is there a dog here?"

"Hey watch your language around the little one!" Shizuka said.

"What's wrong with the dog?" Saeko asked.

"I'm highly allergic to any animal with fur." Meyrin said as she took a step back.

"How bad is it?" Shizuka asked.

"My throat will close up and I'll start hyperventilating." Meyrin said as she coughed and sneezed at the same time. (yes it's possible I've done it before, hurts like hell) "Get that dog away from me."

"Zeke's sorry, he didn't mean to but don't make him go away." The girl said as she held the dog.

"Listen we're going to take the dog to a better place where these monsters can't get him." Saeko said.

"Really?" The girl asked.

"Yes, now give him to me and I'll make sure he gets there." Saeko said holding her arms out.

The girl looked at the dog then at Saeko "Can I go too?"

"Well, this place is only for dogs." Saeko said.

"Oh… o-okay." The girl said as she gave the dog to Saeko.

"Don't worry he'll be in a better place." Saeko said as she took him and began to walk away. They all knew what she was going to do; she was going to kill the dog.

"Meyrin come inside, we'll get you some water to calm you're coughing." Shizuka said as she took hold of her arm and brought her inside.

"Thank you." Meyrin said as her voice was becoming a bit raspy.

"We should go inside too." Kohota said.

"Yeah it's going to get a bit chilly we don't want Alice to get sick." Takashi said. "Come on." They all went inside where Meyrin was coughing out her lungs and Shizuka rubbed her back trying to comfort her. Rei stood watch over Kikyo who was still in her car seat but Rei was starting to doze off. Takashi walked over to Rei and Kohot and Saya stood by the door.

"I hope she feels better." Kohota said.

"Yeah." Saya said. Alice tugged on Saya's shirt. "Hm?" Saya said.

"I'm sleepy." Alice said as she rubbed her eyes.

"We should let her sleep." Kohota said.

"Yeah come on Alice." Saya said as she took the girl to the bunks.

"Hey." Takashi said as he stood in front of Rei.

"Oh, hey Takashi." Rei said.

"You look sleepy."

"I am."

"Why don't you get some sleep? I'll watch over Kikyo."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks." She said and gave him quick hug before walking over to Shizuka and whispering something to her. Shizuka nodded her head and Rei went into one of the bunks.

Takashi sat down and looked at the little baby sleeping, he thought she was cute and she kind of reminded him of Meyrin.

"**Meyrin…" **He thought as he turned his attention to Meyrin. She had stopped coughing but was drinking water like she was dying of thirst. Meyrin felt that someone was looking at her so she turned her head and was surprised to see Takashi.

"Where's Rei?" Meyrin asked.

"She got a little tired and decided to get some rest." Shizuka answered.

"Speaking of rest, we should all get some." Saeko said as she entered the R.V

"Saeko, you're back." Kohota said as Saeko closed the door.

Saeko nodded her head. "Yes, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Meyrin said as she stood up. "But we should all get some rest like you said."

"Yes, we still quite a lot of things to do tomorrow." Saeko said.

"Yeah, this is only the beginning." Meyrin said as she yawned. "Well I'm going to go sleep and do me a favor and don't get in a bunk with the person of the opposite sex. I really don't want to wake up to moaning." Meyrin said as she went to get Kikyo out of the car seat.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Takashi asked as he stood up.

"It means what it means, that's all there is to it." Meyrin said as she held Kikyo in her arms and headed to her bunk. "Well see you guys tomorrow."

"Good night." Saeko said as she headed into one of her bunks.

"Kohota make sure the door is locked and the curtains are closed." Meyrin said.

"Okay." Kohota said as he locked the door. "Sweet dreams."

Takashi headed into his own bunk. "Night."


	6. Wally-World

The next morning Meyrin woke up to Kikyo's crying. She got up wearily as she went to get a diaper and the baby wipes. She then went to the crying baby and began to change her but she continued to cry. Meyrin picked up the crying child and rocked her in attempt to calm her down a bit. Meyrin grabbed the bottle of milk from earlier that was in the fridge, she put it into the microwave for a minute. Meyrin paced around as she rocked the crying baby. She heard a groan from within the bunks. Takashi stuck his head out of his bunk.

"Make it stop." He groaned.

"I'm working on it." Meyrin said. "And it's not an 'it', she's a living human named Kikyo." Meyrin growled.

"Whatever, it's too early in the morning to argue, just make her stop." Takashi said as he stuck his head back into his bunk.

Meyrin sighed as she paced around a bit more until she heard the beeping of the microwave. She opened it up and made sure the milk wasn't too warm. It was lukewarm so it was fine for Kikyo.

"Okay, okay." Meyrin said as she fed the baby. Kikyo took hold of the bottle with her little hands and Meyrin sighed in relief. She looked at the clock, it was five in the morning, there was no use for her to fall asleep now, mostly because once she was up there was no going back to sleep. "So much for sleeping in." Meyrin said as she sat down. It was still dark outside with the exception of a couple working street lights. She gazed out the window and spotted the vacant Wal-mart. They could get a few things from there, although, she wanted to get as much food as possible. If they waited too long then there would be no food. She looked down at Kikyo, who was almost done with her milk. Once she was done she would head out and if anyone else wakes up she'll take them with her. She stood up and headed back to the bunk and laid down Kikyo in the bed. She then decided that she was going to change. She went into the closet and pulled out a pair of faded jeans and a long-sleeve black shirt along with her under garments. She listened closely; there weren't any sounds besides the snoring of Kohota. She decided to hurry up and change while no one was up. She almost fell while putting on the jeans but she managed. Then she braided her hair and put on her combat boots. She decided to bring her bows and arrows with her. She made sure she had everything with her, then checked on Kikyo; she had fallen back asleep. Meyrin covered her with her blanket and kissed her forehead.

"Where are you going?" Takashi asked.

"Wal-mart." Meyrin said.

"Why didn't you wake anyone one of us?" He asked.

"Because I didn't want to wake anyone up." She said as she headed to the front of the R.V. "Besides I need people to stay here."

"It doesn't take all of us to stay here."

"If it makes you happy you can come with me but don't complain to me or argue about what and how I do anything." Meyrin said as she

took the keys and put them in her pocket. "If you're coming come on, we don't have all day." Meyrin said as she opened the door.

"I'm coming, let me just…"

"Don't, we'll get something better there." Meyrin said.

"Like what?" Takashi asked as he followed behind Meyrin.

"Close the door, make sure it's locked."

"It is." Takashi said as he closed and locked the door.

"Okay." Meyrin whispered. "We're going to do this as swiftly as we can, come on." Meyrin said as she began to jog and Takashi followed behind her. They went into the store that was short of a mess.

"Come on get some bags, we're going to get some food first." Meyrin said as she walked towards the vegetable and fruit section.

"Okay." Takashi said as he went to grab some of the plastic bags.

Meyrin grabbed a few apples as Takashi came back with the bags. "Open the bags." Takashi did as he was told and Meyrin began to stuff the bags with fruits. "Okay come on, we have to take these back to the R.V" Meyrin said as she took some of the bags from Takashi. Takashi nodded his head and they jogged out the store trying to make as little noise as possible. They unlocked the R.V and put the bags in the driver's seat. Then they ran back to the store.

"What's next?" Takashi asked.

"We're going to get a Crocker pot and some rice and a few packets of water." Meyrin said as she grabbed a cart. "We're also going to get some cereal along with clothes, medicine, a few extra weapons, and a couple of other things." Meyrin said as they began to zoom across the store.

"Will we have enough space for all of this in the R.V?" Takashi asked.

"Yeah." Meyrin said as she turned onto an isle with the rice. She grabbed about ten packets.

"That's a lot of rice."

"We have a lot of people to feed." Meyrin responded. Then they went to get the cereal, they made sure to get some the Alice would like and also got a couple boxes of Pop tarts. Then they went to get the water, they got five of the twenty-four packs of water.

"Should we get juice for Alice?" Takashi asked.

"Yeah, go grab a gallon or two but make sure it's decent and not the type that is all sugar."

"Got it." Takashi said as he went off to get the juice. Meyrin went to get some more milk now that they had cereal it would be done with faster. She was going to have to get creative on where all this was going to go but that was something to figure out later.

"Is this good?" Takashi asked. He had two bottles of V8.

"Smart choice." Meyrin said as he put them in the cart. "Let's get the pot." Meyrin said as they headed to the opposite side of the store. They went to where the pots were.

"Which one should we take?" Takashi asked.

"Hmmm." Meyrin said as she looked at the different types. "Not the metallic type, once those get dirty they're impossible to clean." Meyrin said as she passed those and went to the one that were made of plastic.

"How do you know?"

"Just trust me." Meyrin said as she grabbed one of the boxes from shelves. "This one will do." Meyrin said. "Let's take this back." Meyrin said.

"Here let me push the cart for you." Takashi said as he took the cart from Meyrin.

"Oh, uh, thanks." Meyrin said.

"No problem." Takashi said. They walked out the store in awkward silence. Meyrin opened up the R.V only to be tackled down.

"There you are!" Shizuka said. "We were so worried about you guys!" She said as she strangled Meyrin.

"You're killing me, again." Meyrin mumbled.

"I'm sorry." Shizuka said as she released her.

"Where have you guys been?" Saeko asked.

"Wal-mart." Takashi said.

"Wal-mart?" Kohota asked.

"Yes, Wal-mart, you know wally world or whatever you want to call it." Meyrin said as she began to take things out of the cart. "Do me a favor and put this stuff in the R.V" She said as she handed the bag of fruit to Saeko.

"Okay." Saeko said.

"I'm going to go back in again, anyone want to get some clothes?" Meyrin asked. "Actually, all of you come with me with the exception of Takashi and Kohota, you guys hold down the fort." Meyrin said as she grabbed the Crock pot and went into the R.V. "Saya, Rei, we're going to Wal-mart get up." Meyrin said as she sat down the Crock pot.

"What for?" Saya asked wearily as she stuck her head out of her bunk.

"We're getting you guys some decent clothes." Meyrin said as she checked on Kikyo, she was still asleep.

"Oh, wait for me!" Rei said as she jumped out of her bunk. "I'm ready to get some clothes."

"Hurry up we don't want to stay here for too long." Meyrin said as she went out of her bunk and headed towards the front.

"We're coming." Saya said as she got out her bunk. Meyrin stepped out were Saeko was talking over what to do if zombies appeared.

"Can either of you whistle loud enough to where we can hear you?" Saeko asked.

The boys exchanged glances and shook their heads. "Nope."

"There's a whistle the glove compartment, you can use that." Meyrin said as she joined in the conversation. "Just try not to wake up Kikyo if you do blow the whistle. And put the rest of the things inside the R.V."

"We'll take care of it." Kohota said.

"Okay! We're ready." Rei said as her and Saya stepped out the R.V.

"Alright, Shizuka-sensei are you ready?" Saeko asked.

"Yes!" Shizuka said.

"Let's roll then." Meyrin said as she began to jog across the parking lot with the group of females behind her. She stopped at the door and let them pass her before she went in.

"Okay, make sure that whatever you get is comfortable for you to move in and make sure you don't over exaggerate and bring fifty pairs of shirts." Meyrin said as they headed to the clothes part of the store.

"Got it." Saya said as the group began to split.

"Saeko." Meyrin said.

"Yes?" Saeko said.

"Do me a favor and get me a pair of cargo pants and a couple of long sleeve shirts, I have to get some more things. Also make sure everyone gets laceless sneakers." Meyrin said.

"Will do." Saeko said.

"Thanks." Meyrin said and ran off. She went into the sports section of the store. "Okay sooo I need a bat, preferably a metal one." She said to herself as she looked around. She found the bats but it seemed like there were none made of metal. Then she spotted one but it was on the top shelf at the very back; she was too short to reach it. "Being short is such a bother." She said as she looked around trying to find a chair or something she could stand on. She found a chair with wheels but that probably wasn't the best thing to use. So she decided to use another bat to bring that one down. She took one of the wooden bats out of the box and stretched as she tried to knock it off the shelf. In her attempts she managed to push it further back.

"That's just wonderful in every sort of way." She mumbled to herself. She looked at the shelf behind her and an idea sprang into her mind. She took a few steps back then began to run; she jumped and used the shelf to push herself up. Then she used the bat to knock the other bat off the shelf; it worked. She mentally thanked her physical trainer from Spain as she picked up the box with the metal bat inside of it. Now she was going to get some sort of metal wire. She had come up with an idea when she was debating about what weapon to take earlier that day. She went to where the fishing equipment was. She searched through the types of wires, there weren't any made of metal but then again who uses metal wires for fishing.

"Should've seen that coming." She said as she picked a packet of nylon wire. She opened up the packet and took the pocket knife on the shelf behind her. She began to cut them wire into segments of about the size of two school buses, yes, it was a big role of nylon wire. She did this until she had twenty three segments. Of course, she had to use more than one packet. Afterwards she tied one end to an arrow and the other end to the case. Then she wrapped the wires around her hand and took her hand out then put them in carefully into the case. "This might work or this might horribly fail." She said as she pulled the case over her shoulder then she heard the whistle.

"Meyrin!" Saeko yelled.

"GO! I'll catch up with you guys! I need one more thing!" Meyrin said.

"No, we'll wait!" Saeko said.

"No! Go before any more appear! I'll be fine! I've trained for this type of thing!" Meyrin said. "_Not exactly but its close enough."_

"… Fine! Be careful!" Saeko said. Meyrin heard the echo of their footsteps. Meyrin ran to the infants section, she was going to need more of the milk and baby food, along with clothes and blankets. Meyrin grabbed one of the baby bags and stuffed it with the things that she needed. It only took about a second before she was running out with the bat in one hand and the bag over her other shoulder. She sprinted through the store as fast as she could. When she was outside she could see them running through the crowd of zombies. Saeko was trying her best to fend them off while everyone else was getting to the R.V. A zombie was launching itself at Saeko but she was fending off another zombie.

Meyrin pulled out an arrow and hoped that the wire was long enough. She watched as the arrow missed Saeko by a hair and hit the zombie in the head. Meyrin sighed and ran as she pulled the wire.

"Thanks!" Saeko said as she cut through another zombie. Meyrin grabbed the arrow and reloaded as she shot at another zombie.

"Hurry up!" Shizuka said as she stuck her head out the R.V.

"We're coming!" Meyrin said as she pulled the arrow and began to head towards the R.V. She began to spin the arrow around her and used it to fend off the zombies. Saeko was at the door of the R.V keeping the zombies away. "Hey! Drive towards me! I'll jump into the R.V!" Meyrin said.

"Okay!" Saeko said and told Shizuka what to do. Soon enough the R.V was driving towards Meyrin. Meyrin stopped spinning the arrow and began to use it as a sword. She waited till it was almost too late then jumped. She grabbed onto the door and jumped in and slammed the door behind her. "Phew." Meyrin said as she locked the door.

"Are you okay?" Kohota asked.

"Yup, I still have all my body parts attached so it's all good." Meyrin said as she went to put the things she was carrying down. "Hey

Takashi, here." Meyrin said as she threw the box with the bat in it. "Be grateful, it took me forever to get it."

Takashi opened the box to pull out the silver bat. "Wow, thanks." He said as he began to swing it about.

"Hey, no swinging in the R.V." Shizuka said.

"Sorry." Takashi said as he stopped. "Where did you find it?"

"Wal-mart where else?" Meyrin said as she went to check on Kikyo. Luckily she was still sleeping peacefully. She suspected the breathing was coming from Alice, she must have fallen asleep again.

"I know that but where? I've been searching for one of these for a while." Takashi said as he came up behind her.

"Oh, well, you know it was at the very back of the top shelf. I had to be a ninja to get it." Meyrin said as she turned around. She didn't notice him there and was surprised, mostly because of how close he was. "Oi, it's called personal space." Meyrin said as she pushed by him, hiding her blush.

"Hey, Meyrin where are we heading?" Shizuka asked.

"Uhm, well, I had originally planned to head out into the country." Meyrin said as she sat in the passenger seat. "You know less people mean fewer zombies."

"That's not a bad idea." Saya said.

"Yes, but where were you planning to stay? I doubt you were going to live in this R.V" Saeko said.

"Well, if worse came to worse than yes I was going too, but I know my father owns some land out somewhere and ifI can't find that then, I'd probably run into an abandoned house." Meyrin said as she leaned back in the seat.

"What about our parents?" Rei asked.

"They're probably dead." Meyrin said. "_And I said that out loud…wonderful."_

"What?" Takashi said.

"Well if you think about it, we barely escaped our situations as young healthy adults; imagine them however, in their late thirties, forties and some in their early fifties. Besides mine are dead anyway." Meyrin said and shrugged. "It's not a big deal, you'll get over it."

"How can you say that? They're your parents!" Takashi said.

"

I know but they're dead, what am I supposed to say? Besides I have more important things to think about now."

"Like what?" Takashi challenged.

"Like the safety for me and everyone else in this R.V along with what our next move is. My parents would have wanted me to continue on as the strong and independent woman they saw me as and that's exactly what I'm going to do. If you have a problem with that you can leave." There was a silence as they drove down the empty streets.

"You're right." Saeko said breaking the silence. "Even if they were alive what could we do? We don't have enough space here to bring every one of our family members along. Not to mention the expenses."

"But…" Rei began.

"Like Meyrin said, if you don't like it then you can leave." Saeko said. Meyrin smiled to herself as she heard Saeko.

"I'm staying." Saya said as she stepped to Saeko's side.

"Me too." Kohota said.

"Don't leave me out either." Shizuka said. We looked at Takashi and Rei.

"Well?" Meyrin said. "Do we need to stop and drop you guys off?"

"No." Takashi said as he looked off to the side.

"But…" Rei said.

"She's right, it would be better if we worried about ourselves right now. If they did survive then I'm sure we'll find them. Your dad is in the police force, right? He can take care of himself." Takashi said giving Rei a reassuring smile.

"… Yeah." She finally said.

"Alright, coolios so we're all on the same page." Meyrin said as she opened up the glove compartment and took out a GPS and began to fiddle with it. "First place we're going to go is one of the houses my family owns out in the country. It shouldn't be more than a four hour drive." Meyrin said as she set the GPS on the little stand. "We should be there by…" Meyrin said as she looked at the clock. "Around 12:30 ish." Meyrin said as she stood up. "Well if you guys don't mind I'm going to sleep or at least going to try to fall back to sleep. Don't make any noise." She said and headed to her bunk. "See you guys in bit."


	7. Research?

**Woo~ Seventh chapter! Yeah, well, I'm really appreciating (Don't know if I spelled that right e.e) your reviews and things of the suchnes~ It keeps me going! Love all you my lil guppies~ **

**Anyway, onto the story~**

* * *

"Hey, hey wake up." Saeko said as she shook Meyrin gently.

"Huh?" Meyrin said as she opened her eyes.

"We're here." She said.

Meyrin sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Already?" She stretched herself out and looked around. "Where's Kikyo?"

"She's with Saya, she woke up and we decided to move her so she wouldn't wake you up." Saeko said as she moved out the way as Meyrin came out the bunk.

"Have we seen any zombies yet?" Meyrin asked as she combed her fingers through her hair.

"Not yet." Kohota answered. "But the gates are closed."

Kohota and Takashi were on opposite's side of the R.V and looking out the window. Saya and Rei were sitting on the seats on the sides and Saya was holding Kikyo in her arms and Alice was in Rei's lap. Shizuka was at the front of the R.V as she fixed her hair.

"Right we need to press in the code, one second." Meyrin said as she went to the front of the vehicle. "Excuse me; I need to sit in the driver's seat."

"Okay." Shizuka said as she moved out the seat.

Meyrin sat down and looked around herself.

"What are you looking for?" Saeko asked.

"A button." Meyrin said as she looked at the gauges meters. Then she looked under the steering wheel. "There it is." She said as she pushed the button on the back side of the steering wheel. The radio and ac control panel switched out for a small laptop. "Yup that was the button."

"What are you about to do?" Shizuka asked.

"Figure out what the passcode is."

"You live here and don't know what the passcode is?" Kohota asked.

"For the record, I just got back from a..." Meyrin counted on her fingers. "11 year trip."

"11? What have you been doing?" Kohota asked.

"Studying in Europe." Meyrin said as she unlocked the laptop.

"Europe?" Saeko asked.

"Yup, it was nice each year I went to a different location." Meyrin said as she began to hack into the data base.

"Ohh I've always wanted to go to Europe." Shizuka said.

"You should go, well after all this is over, it's a nice place." Meyrin said as she began to scroll through the codes. "Hey, do me a favor and get the small notebook out of the glove compartment and a pen if there is one."

Shizuka opened the glove compartment and handed Meyrin the notebook and pen. Meyrin began to scribbled down some of the passcodes and everyone once in a while she would scroll down or up. After a couple of minutes she closed the laptop and looked up.

"Okay, that should be all that we need for now." She said as she stood up. "So. Saeko watch my back while I go type in the code." Meyrin said as she opened the door quietly. Saeko nodded and stood by the door while Meyrin pressed in the code. The light on the gate turned green as the doors opened.

"Come on, move." Meyrin whispered. The R.V drove past the gates and once Meyrin was in the gates closed. Meyrin got back into the R.V and closed the door. "Alright so there are three scenarios that could play out."

Everyone turned their attention to her as they pulled up to the front doors. It was a rather big house but not as big as the manor they had. It was two floors, a basement and attic and had about ten rooms, three bathrooms and a kitchen on the first floor and in the basement.

"First scenario, everyone left the house and we have nothing to worry about. Second, everyone is still in the house but managed to keep the zombies away and we still have nothing to worry about. The third is everyone turned into a zombie and we have to either kill them off or find somewhere else to stay." She said.

"So what do we do?" Takashi asked.

"I say we prepare ourselves for the worst but hope for the best." Meyrin said.

"Meaning…?" Rei said.

"Meaning that we'll split ourselves evenly, half of us will stay here which would most likely Rei, saya, Shizuka, Alice, and Kikyo. You guys will stay here and wait for us just in case it does turn out to be the worse. Saeko, Takashi, Kohota, and myself will go in the mansion fully armed and take a look around if it seems safe we'll come back and get you guys and if it's not well then we might be fighting for a while till we can get back here."

"Shouldn't one of us stay here?" Kohota asked.

"No, if it does turn out to be the worse three of us against the army of zombies will not turn out very well." Meyrin said. "We need all the people we can get. Besides this is a military style R.V, don't underestimate it."

"Why do you have a military style R.V?"

"My father was intertwined with the military and the secret services and what not." Meyrin said as she went to look for her chain-scythe. "I'm not really sure what he was into but it had something to do with it." She said as she held up the scythes checking how sharp they were. She ran her thumb against the first scythe it made a slight cut. She switched hands and scythe and did the same thing with the left scythe which also made a slightly deeper cut. "Ow." She said as she put her thumb in her mouth then took it out. "Who here still has a working phone?" Everyone raised their phones. "Okay who here has everyone's number."

"I have Rei's and Saya's." Takashi said.

"Close enough if something happens call him and we'll come back running." Meyrin said as she went back to the front of the vehicle. "So I think that's all we have to go over, uhm… don't open the door to anyone else but us… wait I need the keys." Meyrin said. Shizuka handed her the keys.

"Thank you very much, you guys ready?" Meyrin asked.

"Ready." Saeko said as she grabbed the hilt of her sword. Takashi had the silver bat in hand and Kohota had an AK-47.

"Alright let's move out." Meyrin said as she went out the R.V. They all went up to the front of the house and Meyrin tried to open it but it was locked. "Let's go around the back." Meyrin said. They jogged to the back of the house and tried the door that led to the kitchen but once again that door was locked. Meyrin put her ear to the door and listened closely, she heard the faint sound of a radio. "There might still be people in there."

"Then knock." Takashi said.

"No, they might have just left the radio on before they turned into zombies, let's try to get in through the windows." Meyrin said.

"I saw a window that was open earlier but it was on the second floor." Saeko said.

"We can manage, where was it?" Meyrin said.

"It was on the right side of the house." Saeko said.

"Okay let's go then." Meyrin said as they began to jogged back to the right side of the house.

"There it is." Saeko said as she pointed at the open window.

"Any ideas on how to get up there?" Kohota asked.

"Hmmm, I got one." Meyrin said as she took three steps back. "If you don't want your head slice off then I suggest you move out the way." She said as she began to swing the right scythe above her head. The others moved away a couple of feet being very cautious to stay out of the way of the scythe. Meyrin then threw the scythe inside the window; she then pulled on the scythe to see if it had gotten stuck. The scythe had dug into the wall under the window. She pulled on it a couple of times to make sure it wouldn't give out. "Okay, we'll go up one at a time." Meyrin said. "Are you going to be okay with climbing this wall with that skirt?"

Saeko nodded her head "I'll be fine." She was wearing a long blue ruffled skirt.

"Alright, you guys can climb right?" Meyrin asked

"Yeah." Takashi said.

"… can't I just wait at the back door?" Kohota asked.

"Nope." Meyrin said. "If we have to we'll pull you up." She said as she walked to the wall. "Let's go." She said as she began to tread up the wall. After she was up Takashi came up then Kohota and then finally Saeko. Meyrin then pulled the other scythe up and took it out of the wall. She looked around the room she was in, the sea themed room which was across the hallway from the stairs. "Okay just stay quiet and follow my lead." Meyrin said as she tip-toed to the door and opened it. She looked in both directions before getting out the room. They began to walk down the hallway quietly and soon were going down the stairs. There didn't seem to be anyone or anything in the house as they continued to move down the stairs. Just as they were about to reach the bottom Meyrin stepped on a step that made the loudest creaking sound ever. Time paused for that one moment as the sound echoed through the halls. Meyrin had completely forgotten about the last step. She looked around and nothing seemed to happen just as she was about to relax and move a butcher knife flew right in front of her. Meyrin snapped her head to the direction where the knife came from it was one of the maids.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" She asked.

Meyrin let down her defenses a bit. "I am the daughter of Shino and Hira Akashi, Meyrin Akashi. I have overseas for the past eleven years and returned to find my parents dead, don't make this any harder on me than what it has to be." Meyrin said proudly.

"The masters are dead?" The maid asked.

"Yes, they were killed trying to protect the manor." Meyrin said.

"Forgive me I was not aware of the situation." The maid said as she bowed deeply.

"It's fine, straighten yourself up." Meyrin said.

They maid straighten up "What are you doing here?"

"I decided that staying in the city was more dangerous than staying out here. I also picked up a couple of friends if you don't mind."

"It's not a problem at all."

"Where is everyone else?"

"They fled when they heard the news."

"Ah, I hope they die."

"Why?" Takashi asked.

"Because they left this place when their loyalties are to my family." Meyrin said as she began to head to the front door. "I greatly appreciate you staying in such dreadful times; once this is all over I will make sure that you no longer have to work a day in your life."

"Please that isn't necessary." The maid said as she walked beside Meyrin.

"Nonsense." Meyrin said as she opened the front doors. She signaled at the others in the R.V to come on out. "It's quite a few of us but we brought a few weapons along with food."

"Please you must all be tired please go inside and rest and I will unpack your things." The maid said as she headed to the R.V.

"I shall help; I already had enough sleep anyway." Meyrin said.

"We'll help too." Saeko said.

"Thank you." Meyrin said. They began to take the food out of the R.V first and organize it into both the kitchens so that it was pretty evenly split. Then they took out the couple of weapons and clothes they had brought along. After all that was said and done they parked the R.V into the garage.

"Thank you for your help." The maid said as she bowed slightly.

"It was nothing." Meyrin said as they went into the living room where everyone was waiting. Once Kikyo saw her she began to squeal and stretched her arms out to Meyrin. She smiled as she took Kikyo into her arms.

"So what's the plan now?" Saya asked.

"For now we stay here and wait a bit until everything starts to calm down. I will constantly be in contact with my father's business partners but the death of my mother and father is to stay in between us."

"Why?" Rei asked.

"If they were to know that they were dead they would take advantage of the situation and take over our company and land. Meaning we would be kicked out here. Also, I need to be able to stay in contact with the military to see how the progress goes and I also have to keep our company running so we have funds to keep us going." Meyrin said.

"What exactly does your family own?" Shizuka asked.

"We own the Akashi incorporation, we produce military weapons on the over side but on the underside we are a secret intelligence unit that takes care of secret terrorist and other things that you will never hear on the news."

"Amazing." Saeko said.

"Thank you." Meyrin said. "Now miss…" Meyrin said as she turned to the maid.

"Please call me Aiko." She said.

"Aiko will you please give everyone a room and take care of Kikyo while I check out a couple of things in my father's office." Meyrin said as she handed Kikyo to the maid.

"Yes ma'am, this way please." The maid as she went out the room with the group of teenagers following behind. Meyrin went down to the basement where her father's office was. Once she was in she hacked into his computer and began to look at what the military's view on the situation was.

This is bigger than we expected

Yes, indeed this is has definitely passed our expectations

What do we do now?

Our best move would be to wait it out.

And the other countries?

We'll have to meet with them later we aren't missing many

All we're really missing is The United Kingdom, Germany, France, the United States, and Mexico.

And the other European countries?

No one knows their current situation, but from what has been said no one is in power, the ambassadors have fled and the others are dying the second they become ambassador.

Ah, Akashi is here

Where have you been?

Meyrin tried to think up of an excuse or something to say.

Forgive my lateness; I had to move my family to a safer location

Family? Has your daughter come back?

Yes, she came back a few days ago before the out break

That's wonderful to hear, I bet she's grown into a fine woman.

Aye, I remember when she was just a small thing barely able to stand.

That aside, how is the research going?

"_Research?" _Meyrin thought. "_What research?"_

I haven't be able to get in contact with the laboratories since the outbreak give me a few days and I will be up to date on everything

Well make it quick; remember this is all depending on your group Akashi, if you fail then it will cost the lives of many

Come on, you know Akashi can take care of this, he's never failed us before so he won't know

Yeah just leave everything to Akashi, we'll be fine

I am grateful that you put such great trust in me but as you can tell I am very busy and have some more pressing matters to attend to, please excuse me.

Meyrin logged out the chat and sat back in her father's chair.

"_Research, they were talking about some sort of research. Could it have been for a cure for this out break? Either way I have to get in contact with the research labs and figure out what's going on. Something about this thing seems off though…" _She thought as she looked at the painting of her father and mother.

"What exactly did you get yourself into father?" She said out loud. She turned her attention back to the computer and began to look around the files on this so called research. At the same time she tried to get into contact with some of the labs but they were off line. It wasn't looking too well at all; the zombies might have already taken over the labs. She began to study the documents that the scientist had written. There wasn't much but it was better than nothing. From what she could understand it seemed that this was an outbreak of some sort of parasite called _Putrida Corpus _meaning rotten body. The early stages are unknown but once it is in effect the body will lose its color and began to literally rot away. It only takes a matter of minutes for this to happen and is transferred by the bite of the infected. Once the body has rotted away, the brain will no longer be in function and the body will move to the will of the parasite that seems to feed on flesh. By this stage the human victim is already dead and the only way to stop this parasite is by destroying the brain. These parasites however the lack the ability to speak, see and feel, however their ability to hear it ten times greater than a humans along with their strength making them very dangerous. The cure for it however was still unkown.

"I already knew all of this." Meyrin said with a sigh. She began to look through the papers on the desk to see if she could find out any more. After a while there was a knock at the door. "Come in." Meyrin said as she continued to flip through the papers.

"Aiko said dinner is ready." Takashi said.

"Dinner? Is it dinner time already?" Meyrin asked as she looked up from the papers.

"Yeah you've been down here for a while." Takashi said.

"Damn, I've been down here for that long but manage to find out nothing more than what I already." Meyrin said as she stood up.

"What exactly are you talking about?" Takashi asked.

"It's nothing; let's go I'm getting hungry." Meyrin said as she was about to head out of the office.

"Wait." Takashi said as he grabbed her wrist.

"What?" Meyrin asked as she turned to face him.

"Look, I'm sorry, for everything I've done up till now. I really feel like I've done nothing but hurt you and I really want to make it up to you. I know that you probably won't believe me but I'm telling you the truth. It's just that you were gone for so long and I just…"

"It's okay, don't worry about it, what happened happened and there's nothing we can do about it now. Meyrin said cutting him off. "Besides we can't be focused on the past right now." She said smiling. "So let's just put that all behind us and start off new."

"Yeah, thanks." Takashi said.

"No problem now can I have my wrist back?"

"Oh, sorry." He said as he let go of her.

"It's fine." She said. They headed up stairs to the dining room where everyone was waiting. For dinner they were having spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, and gelato for dessert. As they ate they laughed and enjoyed themselves, forgetting about the tragedy that was happening right outside the walls. Aiko made sure to feed Kikyo and Alice and put them both to bed afterwards. Once everyone was done they all headed to their separate rooms to sleep, they were ready to rest after the long day they had. They made sure to lock all the doors and windows and kept no light on, if needed to they used candles. Once Meyrin made sure everyone had whatever they needed she finally headed to bed herself. She changed out of what she was wearing into a nightgown then climbed into bed. There were still many questions running through her mind but those would have to wait until tomorrow, she needed her sleep.


	8. Ceasar Wheel

The next morning there was a knock at Meyrin's door.

"

Meyrin-sama." Aiko said as she opened the door.

"Hhhmm?" Meyrin said still half asleep.

"It's time for breakfast." Aiko said as she walked over to the curtains. "If you wait then your food will get cold." She said and open the curtains letting in the sunlight.

Meyrin groaned as she pulled the covers over her head. "Light… it burns."

"Come on now, you don't want to keep everyone waiting." Aiko said as she pulled the covers off Meyrin.

Meyrin groaned again as she rolled out the bed and face planted the floor "Ouff."

"Are you okay?" Aiko asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." Meyrin said as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

"9:30, I believe."

Meyrin stretched and stood up wearily "Sooo tired."

"Well, if you're that tired maybe you should go back to sleep and get some more rest."

"No, no, it's just me being lazy." Meyrin said as she walked over to the bathroom. "Imma take a shower and I'll be downstairs in a bit."

"Okay, I'll tell the others." Aiko said as she left the room.

Meyrin grabbed her bath robe and started the water as she yawned. "Man fighting zombies puts a lot of stress on you." She said jokingly as she stripped down and went into the bathtub. "I wish I could live in water that would be awesome." She said as she laid her head against the head of the bath. "If only, if only." She took her time, not really wanting to leave the warm water but eventually she had to get out. She wrapped herself in the bathrobe and walked out the bathroom. A blast of cool air hit her "I despise the cold beyond all despisement." She said as she waddled over to her wardrobe. She was cold so she was going to wear something warmish.

"Aaahhh dresses, yes because that is exactly what I wanted." She said in sarcasm.

She began to search around to see if there was possible something beside a dress but no, it was all dresses. "Well then I guess I'm stuck with dresses." She said. She decided to put on a long turtle neck gray dress with long sleeves and random swirl designs scattered on it. She then blow dried her hair so she wouldn't as cold. Once that was done she pulled it up into a pony tail. She looked at herself in the mirror to make sure that no piece of hair was randomly sticking out. She felt old in the dress but she'd rather feel old than cold. She decided to put on some socks and just walk around with those on. After that was all said and done she headed down stairs and met Aiko on the way there.

"Meyrin-sama we were starting to get worried." Aiko said.

"Really? Well once I was in the bath I didn't want to get out." Meyrin said laughing a bit.

"Well come, come, everyone has scattered around the house but I made sure to keep your food warm." Aiko said as she led her to the dining room.

"And Kikyo?" Meyrin asked.

"She feel back to sleep after I fed her." Aiko said.

Meyrin smiled a bit "That's good and Alice?"

"She's in the living room with Saya and Rei watching tv."

"Good, and the others?"

"They're out standing watch."

Meyrin nodded her head as they went into the dining room. "I like this set up."

"What are you going to be doing after breakfast?" Aiko asked as Meyrin sat down.

"I'm going to try to contact the labs, yesterday I found out some interesting information." Meyrin said.

"Well I'll go get your breakfast." She said as she went into the kitchen. Meyrin propped up her elbows on the table and rested her head on the palm on her hands. She let out a sigh as she began to think about how she was going to contact the labs.

"**First off I know that I'll have to do some research on any passcodes or code words that I'm not aware of. I might have been gone but I was kept in updated on these types of things but I still don't want to take my chances. I think I could pass as my mother, she was always very deep into the research facilities, so maybe that might work but if it just so happens that she wasn't then I'll have to get real creative on what I'll do from there." **She began to play out several different scenarios in her head.

"Meyrin-sama?" Aiko said snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry." Meyrin said as she took her elbows off the table. "I was just thinking." She looked at bowl of miso soup and a small plate of rice to the side. "It smells delicious." Meyrin said as she took the chopsticks in her hands. "Itadakimasu." She said and began to eat. As she ate she continued to play out scenarios and things of the likeness. "Gochisosama." Meyrin said as she stood up. "If anyone needs me I will be in my father's office." She said as she walked out the dining room. On her way down to the office Alice ran into her.

"Whoa, slow down." Meyrin said.

Alice looked up at her than behind her. "Shhhh." Alice said as she went and his behind a curtain.

"Meyrin have you seen Alice?" Saya asked.

"Oh, well…." Meyrin said as she pointed at the curtain. "I don't think I have."

Saya got the message "Oh well thank you."

"Mhhm." Meyrin said as she went down the stairs. She entered her father's office; there were a few rays of sun coming in through the curtains. She had to admit that it was much more peaceful than the city, you could hear the birds chirping and if you listened very closely you could hear the stream that was down the road. Meyrin sighed as she sat down in the chair. She began to spin the chair a bit. She wasn't really in the mood to be doing anything, she wanted to go back to bed and sleep but she knew she had things to do. She stopped spinning in the chair and sat up so that she was facing the desk. She logged back into the computer and began through look through a couple of files on the so called research but it didn't do any good, it just repeated to her what she already knew. She was tempted to just stop looking through the files since it was only repeating what she knew but if she knew better than that so she read through the files and scribble down a couple of notes. But as she had suspected there was nothing new. She sighed as she sat back in the chair and ran her hand through her hair.

"This is getting me nowhere." She said to herself. She began to shuffle through the papers she didn't get a chance to look through the day before, which happened to be more than she expected. It seem like the pile of papers would never end. As she was reading she began to fall asleep but a knock at the door woke her up. She shook her head a bit to wake herself up.

"Come in."

The door opened and Takashi came. "Aiko told me to come and get you, it's time for lunch." He said.

"Already?" She asked as she glanced at the clock, it was already 2:30. "Wow that was longer than I expected and I'm still not done." She said as she threw the papers on the desk and spun around in the chair once.

"Doing what?" Takashi asked as he closed the door and walked up to the desk.

She sighed and looked at him "If I tell you then you must promise that you will tell no one."

"I promise." Takashi said.

"Sit down." Meyrin said and motioned to the chair. He sat down and waited. "Yesterday I came in here to see how the company was doing but I ran across something else. I entered in a conversation with a few other countries and as you probably already know it's not just us that have this outbreak, the rest of world does also." She noticed that his eyes widen ever so slightly. "Anyway they were talking about our research labs having something to do with it; I think that they might be working on a cure for this or a way to stop it. I decided to try to get in contact with the labs via messaging but they weren't online, for all we know the zombies might have already taken over the labs. However I did do some research yesterday and today. This is what I gathered." She said as she handed him the paper she scribbled down the notes on. He took it and began to study it. "Most of things on it should be things that we already know."

"So this is some type of virus that's spreading around?" Takashi asked as he continued to read through the paper.

"Yup, basically where and when it was created, I don't know but once I'm in contact with the labs things will be a whole lot clearer." Meyrin said as she messed with a pencil on the desk.

"So are you planning on telling the others about this?" He asked as he handed the paper back to Meyrin.

"For the time being, no, maybe later but for now I have to make sure I get everything sorted out. I might end up saying something that might seem right but turns out to be wrong." Meyrin said as she stood up. "And I don't want that to happen."

"Meyrin…" Takashi said as he stood up.

"huh?"

"You need to know something."

"And what is that?"

"I… well… uh…"

"You…"

"I…" He couldn't think of what to say to her even though he had prep talked himself the whole way down there. He took a deep breath and hoped that he wasn't going to ruin anything with his next action. He leaned over the desk and pressed his lips against hers.

Meyrin's eyes widen as she felt his lips against hers. In any other circumstance she might have pushed him away put being as she was he was like drop of relief to her, a small ray of light in all this confusion and darkness. She melted into the kiss that was sweet and gentle. They parted in there in silence, it wasn't awkward though, it was just silent.

"We should go upstairs to eat." Takashi said.

"You go ahead and go up, I'll be up in a second." Meyrin said.

"Okay, don't do what you did at breakfast though." He teased.

"For the record it was cold."

"No it wasn't."

"For me it was."

"Okay, sure whatever you say just make sure you actually make it on time." He said as he went to the door and opened it.

"I will." She said and motioned him off. Takashi left the room closing the door behind him. Meyrin plopped right back on the chair and let her head rest on the desk. She questioned herself about what did she just did. It was wrong and she knew it was but something about it just felt too right for it to be wrong. She sat back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling and let out a frustrated sigh. She wanted to finish reading the file she had before Takashi came in. She grabbed the paper and held up, feeling a little lazy to move. As she read she noticed something on the paper, like a faded out word. She flipped the paper over but there were no printed words on it. Meyrin looked around then got out the chair, the paper still in her hand. She walked over to the window and opened the curtains. She then pressed the paper against the window and the words that she saw earlier became clearer to see.

"What the…" She said. The words made no sense to her. She tried to rearrange the letters in the words but that wasn't successful. Then she thought of something, she went over to the folder in which she had found that paper in. She took out another paper and held it against the light; it had words on it too. She began to look through all the papers in the folder and it turned out that they all had words written on them. She then checked through all the other folders but it was only that one. She moved all the other folders off the desk and spread out the papers that were in the folder. She stood over the papers trying to figure out how she was going to do this. She decided to write down the different words written on the papers, most of the time it was only two to ten words. Once she was done she began to read over the different phrases. Then she noticed something about one of the phrases, this phrase weren't randomized letters. She read and read over it again until she realized that it was written in Latin.

"Tres rotarum nendum sub lumine solis." She read to herself. "Three… wheels under the sun… telling?" She said. "Telling what?" She began to relook over the other phrases to see if she they were written in Latin but no, it was just random letters. She let out a flustered sigh and ran her hand through her hair again. She repeated the words to herself trying to think of what it could mean. "What has three wheels and spins?" She said to herself as she looked around the office trying to see if she could find anything that might give her an idea. "Wheels that spin… well maybe it's referring to some sort of cipher wheel but there are so many and I get the sun part since you had to hold up the paper up against the sunlight." She said to herself. "This is so frustrating." She said as she sunk back in the chair. "Wheels, wheels, wheels, spinning, spinning, spinning, under the sun, sun, sun." She said. She stared at the wall like it was going to tell her something. "Aha!" She said as she jumped up out the chair. "I got it!" She said and sped walked out the room. She jogged up the stairs and skipped a few every once in a while. "It was so obvious I can't believe I didn't get it." She said as she reached the top. She then sped walked through the empty living room.

"Meyrin!" Saeko said as Meyrin passed the dining room.

"huh?" Meyrin said as she popped her head into the dining room where Saeko was setting the table.

"Where have you been? You already missed lunch and you're going to miss dinner." Saeko said.

"Dinner already? Wow, I need to keep better track of time." Meyrin said.

"What have you been doing?"

"Oh nothing, just give me a second I'm on the verge of something big right now." Meyrin said and left before Saeko could say anything. She then ran up another stair case and reached the second floor. She then went to the end of the hallway where there was a door. She turned the knob to find that it was locked. "Grr, why?" She said as she headed back downstairs. "Hey ,Saeko." Meyrin said as she ran into the dining room. "Where's Aiko?"

"I think she's in the kitchen." Saeko said.

"Okay, thanks." She said and jogged to the kitchen. "Aiko!"

"Yes?" Aiko said

"I need the keys to the attic." Meyrin said.

"Whatever for?"

"I just need them, I'll tell you the details later." Meyrin said as she held out her hand.

"Okay." Aiko said as she went over to a cabinet and took out a key. "Here, just make sure you bring it back." She said and gave it to Meyrin.

"I will, thanks." Meyrin said and ran back to the stairs and to the door. She unlocked the door and felt a wave of heat hit her in the face. "Oh, it's hot."

"Meyrin." Takashi said.

"Yo." She said.

"What happened? You didn't come to lunch."

"Right, I got distracted." She said as she walked into the closet/stair room.

"Wait, where are you going?" Takashi asked as he stood in the doorway.

"The roof." Meyrin said as she began to go up the stairs.

"What for?" He asked as he followed her up.

"Imma check something." She said.

"What?"

"Something."

He followed her up the stairs since she was being stubborn and wouldn't tell him what she was doing. They reached the top and she unlocked the door and went into the attic.

"Hmmm, this place needs to be cleaned." She said as she moved out the way of the cobweb.

"Yeah, real badly." Takashi said as he followed behind her. Meyrin went towards the window and opened it.

"Wow, I really was in there for a long time." She said as she looked over at the sunset. "Anyway." She said as she sat on the edge of the window and gripped onto the roof.

"What are you doing?" Takashi asked a bit worriedly.

"I'm going to get something from the roof." She said as she began to pull herself up.

"You know you're wearing a dress…" Takashi said looking away a slight blush on his cheeks.

"Details, details." She said as she got to the top of the roof and dusted herself off. She looked around the roof. She then spotted the pinwheel sticking out from the roof. She walked over to it and began to disassemble it. The actual wheel part was actually a Caesar Wheel. "Just as I thought." She said as she put the wheel in a pocket her dress had. "I must admit that was clever." She said to herself. "Now to get down…" She said.

"Do you need help?" Takashi asked.

"Uhm… I don't think so." She said as she sat on the edge of the roof. She turned around so that half her body was on the roof and the other half was dangling. She began to swing her legs in and out the window, on the fifth time she let go of the roof and flew into the window. Sadly, Takashi was still standing there so she ended up kicking him in the face causing him to fall.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," She said as she kneeled down beside him. "I didn't know that you were still standing there. I should have warned you, I'm so sorry." She said. "Are you okay? "She had a hand over his face and groaned in pain. "Is it bleeding?" She asked worriedly.

"A little bit, its fine." Takashi said as he sat up.

"Do you want me to get you a pack of ice?" She asked as she stood up.

"No, no its fine, we're going to go down there anyway and it's really nothing." Takashi said as he removed his hand. It wasn't anything major just some slight bleeding that would probably end up swelling.

"Well, come on let's get you some ice at least." She said as she took his hand and led him downstairs. She felt really bad about kicking him in the face, even if it was an accident. "I'm really sorry, I mean I just…"

"It's okay, I get it, you don't have to say sorry so many times, I mean it's not like you did it on purpose, right?" Takashi said as they went down the stairs.

"Yeah but still, I feel really bad about it."

"Don't, it's nothing major, it could've been worse." He said shrugging.

"If you say so." She said as they arrived on the second floor.

"You know you don't have to hold my hand." Takashi said.

"Huh? Oh!" She said as she let go of his hand blushed ever so slightly. "Sorry I uhm…"

"It's okay, you don't have to say sorry." Takashi said with a charming smile making Meyrin blush even more. Takashi smiled at her reaction

and planted a kiss on her forehead. "You're so adorable." He said.

Meyrin looked down at her feet and began to mess with her hair. She had completely forgotten that she could blush and feel butterflies in her stomach. While she was overseas she had kept herself locked up and her mind focused strictly on grades. Many called her the ice princess because of how cold she acted towards people but because of that she was first in her class and made perfect grades. She was called perfect, immortal, a goddess, and many other names that never affected her but now she was being called adorable and she was falling apart.

"Come on." Takashi said as he took her hand. "If it bothers you that much, you can lead me."

"No, it's not that." Meyrin said as she was about to slip her hand out his hand but he tighten his fingers around hers.

"Go on, lead the way." He said.

He was just messing with her by now and he was enjoying it. He never knew that she would react in such a way since she was acting all serious and adult like. Meyrin leaded them while she looked down at her feet trying to keep her blushing from being noticed. She felt like she was a child leading an adult to some unknown place. As they got nearer to the dining room she tried to slip her hand out his grip but once again he only tightened it.

"Takashi… I would really love to have my hand back." Meyrin said as she remembered who she was and how much power she held over him.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yes, really, you're a big boy I'm sure you can find the dining room, right?" She said as she looked back at him with a devilish yet innocent smile. "Right?" She narrowed her eyes at him but still kept a threatening smile on her face.

"… yeah…" He said as he let go of her hand. She could definitely be scary if she wanted too.

"Thank you." She said with a smile and turned to face forward as she walked into the dining room.

"You're actually here." Saya said with Kikyo in her lap.

"Yes, yes I am." Meyrin said as she took her seat at the head of the table. Kikyo started to reach out for Meyrin.

"I think she wants to be with you." Saya said as she handed Kikyo over to Meyrin. Meyrin sat Kikyo in her lap and let her little hands wrap around one of her fingers.

"What were you doing?" Shizuka asked.

"Research." Meyrin said as she played with Kikyo.

"On what?" Rei asked.

"Oh, nothing just things to do with the company." Meyrin said.

"On the roof?" Saeko asked.

"Yup, apparently there was something up there that my father was hiding." Meyrin said.

"What?" Aiko asked as she came in with a cart of food. "But I've been up there plenty of times I would have noticed it."

"Well. I guess you weren't looking close enough because I found this." Meyrin said as she shifted Kikyo so she could take out the wheel from her pocket.

"A cipher wheel?" Kohota said.

"Mmhhhm." Meyrin said as she put it back in.

"What do you need one of those for?" Saya asked.

"To decipher a code, whatever else for?" Meyrin asked.

"A code?" Saeko asked.

"Yes, I believe it might have been my mother's doing, she was always good at this type of thing." Meyrin said.

"Yes, I remember she would write my instructions in code and it would take me hours to find out what it said." Aiko said with smile as she began to put the plates of food on the table.

Meyrin laughed "I remember that, you were trying to see if I could figure it out."

"Yes, it took a while but with our combined knowledge we figure it out."

"How long ago was that?" Takashi asked.

"It was back when I was around four." Meyrin said.

"Four? You deciphered a code when you were four?" Kohota asked in disbelief.

"Yeah it was a hobby." Meyrin said as shrugged.

"What kind of four year old were you?" Takashi asked as he sat back in his seat.

"A smart one." Meyrin said with a smile.

"Apparently. " Takashi said.

"Can we talk about this later, I'm hungry." Kohota said.

"I agree with Kohota." Rei said.

"Right, we have food to eat." Meyrin said. "Itadakimasu!"

"Itadakumasu!" The others said as they began to eat. For dinner they had onigiri filled with pork and teriyaki sauce, a salad as a side and tiramisu (sp?). At first they were drinking regular water but afterwards Aiko came in with a bottle of cherry sake (I don't know if that exists or not but it does now .)

"Aha, well you guys can have fun with that sake but I'm going to go work." Meyrin said as she stood up with a sleeping Kikyo in her arms.

"Awww you're not going to stay?" Shizuka whined as Aiko began to pour the small dishes of sake.

"No, I have other things to do but next time I promise." Meyrin said smiling.

"Do you need any help?" Takashi asked as he was about to stand up.

"I doubt you could help me, unless you know Latin but next time you can help." Meyrin said as she began to walk towards the exit of the dining room.

"Latin?" Saeko asked.

"Yes Latin." She said. "Well, I shall see you guys later." She said as she walked out the dining room. First thing she had to do was put Kikyo in bed. She went up the stairs and went into Kikyo's room which was the nursery. She put her in the cradle ever so gently and gave her a kiss on the forehead before she walked out the room. She then back down the stairs, across the living room then down some more stairs to get to her father's office. She sat down at the desk and looked over the list of words written on the paper.

"This is going to take a while." She said as she took out the Caesar wheel. "I really hope that this is already set." She said. "I highly doubt it though but there's only one way to find out." She began to decipher the first word. "Annnddd… it is a real word!" She said. "It might actually be set." She said and went onto the next word. It also turned out to be a real word. "Thank you mom for leaving this set." She said as she continued to work. She had the small lamp on the desk turned on, it wasn't much help but it was better than nothing. She yawned as she got to the halfway point. She looked over at the clock, it read 11:55 p.m. "Five more minutes." She said to herself as she went back to work. Five minutes passed but she didn't stop, she kept deciphering the words until she was done, by then she was exhausted but she was so close to finishing all she had to do was translate the words. She looked over at the clock again 12:30 a.m. "Just a couple more minutes." She mumbled as she began to work. She was bad at telling how much time had passed what seemed like only a few minutes to her was probably in hour in reality. She translated all the words within an hour but they were in a randomized order. "Ugh, mom why?" She whined as she began to try to organize the words in a way in which they made sense. She yawned again. She looked over at the clock again, it was 1:11. "I should probably go to bed, but…" She said as she yawned again. She laid her head on the desk not caring anymore. "Whatever." She said as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.


	9. Aiko

During her sleep Meyrin was disturbed by something. She wearily opened her eyes and saw darkness. She waited for her eyes to adjust and it seemed like forever. "_Why aren't my eyes adjusting?" _She thought to herself and blinked a few times. It was then that she realized that she was in bed and she ha_d_ her face buried into something. She pulled back a bit but immediately afterwards she felt something wrap around her waist and pull her back. Her reflexes were going to kick and she was going to throw whoever it was across the room but just as she was, she stopped when she saw who it was.

"_Takashi?" _She thought as she looked at him. He was sleeping peacefully and he had a slight blush on his cheeks. "_He probably passed out with all the sake, he smells like it." _She thought. "_But how did I get in his room?" _She thought back to earlier but the last thing she remembered was falling asleep in the office. She looked around and noticed that it wasn't his room, it was her room. She tried to figure what might have happened while she was asleep but then decided to get out of his grip before she started to try to think things over. She gently began to remove his arm but her arm twitched causing the sleeping Takashi to mumbled and wrap his arms around her even more, pulling her even closer. Even though he was asleep Meyrin was feeling very shy about it. She wanted to wake him up but he was sleeping so peacefully and she just couldn't. She let out a sigh and decided to try to squirm out of his arms. She slowly began to twist and turn as she began to slide out his arms.

"_Okay, so far so good." _She thought as she continued on. What she didn't realize was that she was on the edge of the bed until it was too late. Just as she was about to fall off the edge Takashi pulled her back into his embrace so that his head was buried into her neck. Her cheeks immediately flushed and she could feel his warm breath on her neck making shivers run down her spine.

"T-takashi…" She stammered

"Why are you up so early?" He said in voice drowned with sleep. "Go back to sleep." His lips brushed by her neck and her cheeks became a darker shade of pink.

"Takashi I… I need to use the restroom…" She lied as she tried to push him away.

"Do you have too?" He said and pressed his hand into the small of her back causing her to push up against him. He brushed his lips against her neck again.

"T-ta… Takashi!" She said as she pushed him away, however before she could fully push him away he pinned her down to the bed and hovered over her. She gasped at the sudden movement, not expecting it. She looked up at him, his hair covered his eyes. She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. She didn't want to, but if she had to she would throw him off her. She began to move into the position to be able to kick him off her. Then suddenly he collapsed on top of her. It became silent for a moment while Meyrin evaluated the situation.

"…Takashi…." She whispered ever so softly. There was no response. She sighed confirming that he was asleep. She gently moved him off her and to her disappointment she ended up back where she started. He had wrapped his arms around her waist again. She let out a sigh and gave up. She still had a couple of hours of sleep so she might as well go ahead and sleep.

"_It might have been nice if I could have changed out of this dress, oh well." _She closed her eyes and pushed away her thoughts and fell asleep.

**THUD**

Meyrin's eyes snapped open at the sound; she sat up and looked around the room with cautious eyes.

"Ow…" Takashi said from the floor. Meyrin looked over the edge of the bed.

"Are you okay?" She asked

"Yeah..." He said. He looked around the room "How did I get here?"

"No clue, I was hoping you could tell me." Meyrin said as she laid on her stomach and propped her head up on her hands.

Takashi laughed nervously and he rubbed the back of his neck "I guess drinking that much sake was a bad idea…"

"You don't say."

The door suddenly slammed open and Aiko came barging in completely trampling over Takashi.

"Something wrong?" Meyrin said raising an eyebrow at the maid.

"We can't find Takashi!" She said panting.

"You mean the one you're stepping on?" Meyrin said pointing at her foot that was stepping on his hand.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" She said and moved her foot off his hand and began to bow multiple times.

"It's fine." Takashi said trying his best to smile.

"You should tell the others that you found him." Meyrin said.

"Right, of course, excuse me and I'm sorry!" Aiko said then scrambled out the room. As soon the door was closed Takashi grabbed his hand in pain.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow." He said.

"That looked painful." Meyrin said as she sat up and swung her feet over the side of the bed. "Well if you don't mind I'm going to get changed and you should do the same."

"Oh… right." Takashi said as he stood up. "A-and about yesterday…"

"Don't worry about that now, we'll figure that out but I think I have a theory." She said with a wink.

Takashi's cheeked turned a light shade of pink and he looked away.

"Anyway go on and leave so I can change." She said motioning him towards the door.

"Y-yeah." He said and walked out the room. Once the door was closed Meyrin walked to her wardrobe. She looked through the dresses trying to find something she could feel comfortable in. She settled for a simple pale green dress that just barely passed her knees. She looked at herself in the mirror and combed her hair while deciding what she should do with it. In the end she decided braid it. It took a while since she had such long hair. Once it was done she tied it with a ribbon and walked out the room and decided to head into Kikyo's and Alice's room. She knocked on the door lightly.

"Come in!" A small voice said.

She opened the door and walked in to see Alice tying her shoes. She was wearing a bright pink dress with short sleeves.

"Good morning, Alice." Meyrin said sweetly.

"Good morning." Alice said with a bright smile.

Meyrin walked over to the cradle where Kikyo was sleeping peacefully. She smiled at how adorable she looked. There was a small tug at the bottom of her dress. Meyrin looked down to see Alice with curious eyes.

"Is she your daughter?" Alice asked.

"Oh, no, I just found her a little bit after this all started to happen." Meyrin said as she gazed at Kikyo.

"What about her parents?"

"I don't know, they abandoned her."

"That's so mean." Alice said stomping her foot.

"It is, but they must have had their reasons." Meyrin said and gently brushed her hand against Kikyo's cheek. The baby moved a bit as if it wanted to wake up. Meyrin stopped moving and waited for her to settle back down into her sleep. There was another tug at the bottom of her dress.

"When is she going to wake up? " Alice whispered.

"Who knows?" She said and moved her hand back to her side. "Come on we should go downstairs for breakfast."

"Okay." Alice said happily and began to skip to the door. Meyrin followed behind her and made sure to close the door silently once they were out. Then Alice continued to skip down the hallway.

"Walk down the stairs." Meyrin said. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Okay." Alice chimed as she walked down the stairs. Meyrin smiled remembering when her mother used to tell her the same thing while she ran down the same steps. Meyrin shook off the thought not wanting to bring down her mood. She began to walk down the stairs and Alice waited for her at the bottom, rocking on the heels of her feet. As soon as Meyrin reached the bottom step, Alice took her hand and began to drag her to the dining room.

"Come on, come on, they're waiting for us." Alice said as she tried her very best to pull her with her.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." Meyrin said as she let her drag her into the dining room. As soon as they were in the dining room Alice let go of her hand and ran to a chair then motioned her to sit in the empty chair beside her. Meyrin smiled and sat down beside Alice.

"Good morning Meyrin." Saeko said.

"Good morning, how did you sleep?" Meyrin asked.

Saeko chuckled a bit "The sake really did quite a bit for me; I slept like I haven't slept in ages."

"Mmm, yeah it was really enjoyable." Shizuka said as she stretched a bit. "Don't you agree Saya?"

"Yeah it was nice." Saya said nodding her head.

Rei didn't make a comment although they all looked at her and waited for her to make some sort of comment. She had been silent throughout the morning.

"Rei, are you okay?" Shizuka asked.

"I'm just fine." Rei said forcing a smile to appear on her face. Everyone not wanting to get an argument started just decided to go along with what she said but afterwards it got awkwardly quiet. However Meyrin was busy thinking about the things she had deciphered yesterday, she still had to rearrange the words. With so many phrases and words it could take days even weeks at the rate she was going.

"

_I have to pick up my tempo or I'll never get this done and that reminds me I still have to get in contact with the labs." _She mentally sighed at all the work that she had to do. "_I'll have to check in with the labs today and see if I have any better luck than last time."_

"Meyrin!" Aiko said snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? I mean I'm sorry, I was thinking." Meyrin said.

"We noticed." Rei said in a harsh tone.

Meyrin looked at her wondering what her problem was. "Anyway, what is it that you needed?"

"Oh, uhm, right we just wanted to let you know that breakfast is ready, we were waiting for you so we could start eating." Aiko said.

"You should have started eating without me, I would have noticed eventually." Meyrin said.

"But that would be rude since you are our host." Saeko said.

Meyrin smiled ever so slightly "I guess you're right, well shall we eat?" She picked up her chopsticks and the rest followed.

"Itadakimasu!" They said in unison and began to eat. During breakfast they joked around as they had done at dinner but they were a little calmer since they were still waking up. Afterwards Meyrin stood up.

"Well that was wonderful but I still a lot to finish up."

"Really?" Shizuka asked.

"Yes, it's quite important so I would like to finish it up as soon as possible."

"You know if you over work yourself you'll get sick." Saeko said.

"Don't worry I've been through worse." Meyrin said. "This is nothing."

"Still we can't let you just work while we sit here and do nothing." Kohota said.

"Well. what do you guys suggest we do then?" Meyrin asked.

It was quiet as everyone exchanged glances trying to find a compromise.

"I know!" Alice chimed breaking the silence. Everyone turned they attention to her. "Today we can have a free day and tomorrow we'll all help Meyrin!" She said. It actually wasn't a bad idea.

"Okay, so if we do agree to this then what exactly are we going to do?" Saya asked.

"Uhmmm… fun stuff." Alice said with a smile.

"Like what honey?" Meyrin asked.

"Well. there are plenty of things we can do." Takashi said. "It's all a matter if we agree or not."

"Yes, shall we take a vote?" Aiko suggested. "All in favor of Alice's plan raise your hand."

Saya, Saeko, Kohota, Shizuka, Takashi, and Alice raised their hands. Meyrin sighed as she looked at who had their hands raised and went ahead and raised her hand. Rei however kept her arms crossed over her chest and looked away.

"Well then I believe it is settled." Aiko said.

"Now what are we going to do?" Meyrin asked as they put their hands down.

"Leave that to me." She said and walked out the dining room and into the kitchen. A minute later she returned with a few small pieces of paper and few pencils and pens. She handed a piece of paper and pen or pencil to everyone. "On this piece of paper write a phrase that you enjoy, make sure that the phrase is something that only you would be able to recognize. In simpler words in shouldn't give away your identity."

"What exactly do you plan to do with the phrases?" Saeko asked.

"You'll see, now I will let you guys write the phrase while I clean the dishes, that should give you enough time." She said as she gathered the pates.

Meyrin looked at the blank piece of paper that lay before her. There were many phrases that she could choose, varying from different languages dialects to time periods. She had to narrow it down to one. She began to write hoping that the quote she was going to write wasn't going to give it away. After she was done she waited a bit for the rest to finish. Once everyone was done Aiko came back in and collected the pieces of paper.

"Okay, while I'm hiding these papers you guys are to stay and here and not move, I will be back." She said and walked out the dining room.

"What do you think she's going to do?" Kohota asked.

"Who knows?" Meyrin said and leaned back in her chair. "She's a clever and mysterious woman, I wouldn't doubt it if she managed to make a plane out of those small pieces of paper."

They all exchanged glances.

"Either way I guarantee you that it will be fun as you guys wanted it to be."

"Why does it sound like that's a bad thing?" Takashi asked.

"It's not, but remember, you guys brought this upon yourselves." Meyrin said smirking.

"I'm sure we can handle whatever she throws at us." Saeko said smiling.

"I know we can!" Alice chimed.

"Finished." Aiko said as she came back into the dining room.

"Already?" Rei said.

Aiko nodded her head "Now this is your challenge I hid each of those pieces of papers in their individual hiding place, you have all day until five to find one."

"And if we find them before then?" Shizuka asked.

"Then come and find me, I'll tell you what to do afterwards." Aiko said.

"Okay, then let's say one of us doesn't find a piece of paper before the time limit is up, then what?" Saya said.

"Then I will get you one." Aiko said. "Also if you find one and also happen to find another one you can choose one but make sure to put one of them back so someone else can find them. This is an independent thing, no team work. As a matter of fact for the one who finds a slip of paper first gets a prize."

"What kind?" Alice asked.

"You'll see." Aiko said winking at her.

"Well if that's the case." Meyrin said as she stood up once again. "We should get started."

"Indeed." Saeko said and stood up, the others followed their example.

"The game starts now." Aiko said and the group of teenagers ran into different directions. Meyrin ran through the living room looking carefully knowing that Aiko was good at hiding things. She looked around the living room first looked at the things in plain sight then began to look around in places that would least be expected. Sadly, she had no results there so she ran through the halls looking for the pieces of paper in pictures, lamps, rugs, and whatever else she could find.

"Meyrin!" Takashi said as he caught up to her.

"Huh?" She said.

"Have any luck finding any?" he asked.

"Nope, what about you?"

"I got nothing, this was harder than I expected."

"Of course it is."

"Meyrin, Takashi." Saeko said as she walked up to them. "Have you found a piece of paper yet?"

"Sadly no but I've only searched through the first half of the first floor." Meyrin said.

Saeko turned to Takashi but he shook his head.

"Isn't this supposed to be independent?" Aiko said coming out of nowhere. The three of them froze and looked over at Aiko, not expecting her to have appeared.

"A-ah, we were just asking about the work we would have to do tomorrow." Takashi said.

"Really? It sounded like you guys were talking about something else." Aiko said.

"No, we were just curious." Saeko said as the three of them began to inch away. Aiko raised an eyebrow and looked over at Meyrin.

Meyrin shrugged "Oh by the way there was something I wanted to ask you."

"What might that be?" Aiko said.

"What are we having for lunch?"

"That is a surprise." Aiko said with a wink. "Now run along and remember this is independent."

"We know, we know." Meyrin said as she parted from the group. She began to search the other half of the first floor but sadly came up with nothing, this was much harder than she had expected.

"_I knew she was good at hiding things but this is something else." _She thought as she began to head downstairs to the basement/den. There might have been a possibility that Aiko hid a slip of paper inside the office. She opened the door to the office silently and closed without a sound. She began to search around the office, searching through the bookshelves, pictures, the documents, folders, lamps, portraits, and even the rugs. She left no stone unturned.

"This is impossible." She said as she plopped down on the chair. "She made this a little too challenging."

"It would be a tad easier if you used your full potential." Aiko said as she walked into the room.

"My full potential is not needed for something like this." Meyrin said with a sigh.

Aiko chuckled "You over estimate yourself child."

"And you underestimate me."

"I believe you're wrong there."

"I know I'm not." Meyrin said narrowing her eyes at Aiko.

"Of course you're not." Aiko said as she leaned against the wall. Aiko knew that she was going to lose the argument but that was the point. She knew that if she could anger Meyrin then she would unlock her true potential and she could get the second part of the plan into action.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying what I'm saying; there is no trick to it."

Meyrin looked over the maid that was roughly a few years older than her. She had short curly blond hair with a few strands of silver and caramel brown eyes, she had a petit shape.

"What do you think gives you the right to talk me in such a disrespectful manor?" Meyrin challenged.

"I doubt that this is disrespectful, it was just a bit of advice." Aiko said shrugging.

"Saying that I overestimate myself is advice? Last time I checked it was an insult." Meyrin said as her voice began to rise a bit.

"Now, now, yelling is not necessary." Aiko said with a sly smirk.

"I'm not yelling." Meyrin said as she lowered her voice to a growl.

"_She's almost at her breaking point? She has a short fuse for a mature woman." _Aiko thought. "Temper, temper." Aiko said with a tsk.

Meyrin glared at the maid. "If you don't have anything important to say, then leave my presence this instant."

Aiko smiled mischievously as she bowed "As you wish, madam." She straightened up and just before she left the room she glanced over at the desk and left with a smile.

"How dare she say such things." Meyrin growled as she slammed her fist on the desk. What Aiko had thought was true, she had a very short fuse and once she lost her temper all her basic reasoning basically flies out the window. Meyrin undid the fist and began to tap on her desk impatiently as if she were waiting for something. She looked at the papers under her hands she had grown frustrated with the challenge, well more like she had grown frustrated with Aiko. She picked up the paper and began to go over it; it was the phrases that she had managed to translate the night before. She put the paper back onto the desk and turned on her father's laptop instead. She began to look through more files on the lab, it seem that had done a bit more research but not enough. She sighed and picked up the phone on the desk she began to dial a number and on the second ring it was answered.

Meyrin took in a deep breath hoping that she wouldn't mess this up. "Tres rotarum nendum sub lumine solis."

"Good afternoon madam." A man said.

"Good afternoon." Meyrin replied and mentally sighed.

"I suppose you have called to check on the research."

"Indeed."

"We've tested out several solutions, they've all come very close to our expectation but they have had one drastic side effect." There was a brief silence. "Death." He finished.

"Death?"

"Yes, each of the infected test subjects has died, they return to a human state but only for a temporary amount of time before they die."

"How did they die?"

"So far the most common was their bodies falling apart."

"Odd what about the other labs?"

"We've only been able to contact three out of the one hundred in Japan."

"_Only three?!" _She thought to herself.

"We have concluded that they were taken over by the plague."

"And in the rest of the world?"

"None."

"_None… impossible there are over a thousand labs scattered throughout the globe it's not possible that all of them were taken out."_

"Madam?" The man said snapping Meyrin back to reality.

"Pardon, I was lost in thought, is there anything else?"

"No ma'am but there is one thing I want to ask you."

"Go ahead."

"Did you move over to the summer house?"

"Yes, why?"

"Oh nothing I was just making sure since yesterday you called from the manor."

"Yesterday?"

"Yes don't you remember?"

"O-of course I do well I must be leaving now, my husband calls me, farewell." Meyrin said and hung up the phone before the man could utter another word.

"_Yesterday? The manor? How is that possible? It's not possible at all." _She thought. "_They died. I saw them, they were turned into zombies… weren't they?" _Meyrin thought back at when the zombies launched themselves at her. She only assumed that it was her mother and father because of the clothes they wore. "_Are they alive?" _She thought as she sat down in the chair. "_But why would they stage a fake death? It doesn't make sense." _She looked back at the paper on the desk. She took it and began to study it. She had to uncover this mystery. She began to arrange the words in any sort of way that she could. She began to write, scratch out, study, scratch out and write again. The day was passing by and she didn't even realize it she was too focused on the mystery. Until finally she figured it out.

"I have to go back to the manor." She said as she stood up and ran out the office leaving the paper on the desk.

My daughter if you're reading this it's because we're dead but are we really? Think back and remember who were the ones who attacked you? You hold the key to this do what you must think is right and save this dying world.

Go back to the place where it all started.

Meyrin ran up the stairs pushing past the others in her way.

"Meyrin!" Saeko said as she stopped her. "What's wrong?"

"I need to see Aiko, now." Meyrin said in a very serious voice.

"Last time I saw her she was in the kitchen." Saeko said as she moved out the way.

Meyrin nodded her head and ran into the kitchen but to her surprise she wasn't there. "Aiko!" She called out but there was no response. She growled and ran back out the kitchen.

"Saeko, gather everyone up and tell them to look for Aiko." Meyrin said.

"Why?"

"Just do it, this is important." Meyrin said as she began to run through the house searching for Aiko but she was no longer there, she had disappeared. Then she thought of something. She ran back downstairs to the garage and slammed the door open but just as she had suspected the RV was gone. "Damn it!"

"Meyrin!" Saeko said. "We searched for her throughout the house but she's gone."

Meyrin's hand clenched up into a fist and she smashed it into the wall, making a hole in it.

"Meyrin!" Takashi said as he tried to get to her but Shizuka stopped him.

"However, she left a note." Saeko said handing the note to Meyrin. Meyrin took it with her other hand.

_You did well madam, maybe I did underestimate you, but that is yet be verified. _

_You still have a long way to travel. _

_Let's see if you are truly worty my praise._

_-Aiko-_

Meyrin crumbled the piece of paper in her hand, now filled with rage.

"Meyrin…" Saeko said.

"I'm leaving." Meyrin said as she moved past them back inside the house.

"What?" Kohota said as the group followed behind her.

"Where are you going to go?" Shizuka asked.

"I have to go back to the manor."

"How?" Takashi asked.

"I'm going to walk how else." Meyrin headed down the stairs into her father's office with the others close behind.

"But the weapons." Saeko said.

Meyrin laughed "Don't think that an unworthy maid can outsmart me." She said as she went over the bookcase and pulled on a book. Soon the four walls of the room turned revealing a whole stash of different weapons. "She doesn't even begin to understand my capability." Meyrin walked over to the weapons and picked out a triple-bladed scythe. "Those of you who wish to come with pick out what you want to take, we'll leave tomorrow morning and if you wish to stay here then do so, I would rather not carry the weight of those who will do nothing to support me." She said as she walked out the office.

"And the younger ones?" Saya asked.

Meyrin stopped walking and there was a silence. "They're coming with me." She said and walked away leaving the group. "_That is if they're still here." _She thought as she began to jog up the stairs and soon she found herself running across the house in search of Alice and Kikyo she went into their room to find them both still there. She sighed in relief they were both sound asleep. "_Thank goodness." _Meyrin walked back out the room and closed the door quietly then headed to her own room. She put the scythe beside her bed and changed into a night gown. She sat on the edge of the bed and watched as the final rays of the sun disappeared.

"_Aiko, you will regret what you have done."_


	10. I'm an Idiot

Meyrin woke up at the break of dawn, ready to get everything started. She dressed herself in the black cargo pants and a black long sleeve turtle neck shirt with her combat boots. Luckily, their clothes were brought in before Aiko stole the RV. Meyrin walked out into the dim hallway and stood there waiting for her eyes to adjust. Afterwards, she went down stairs to the kitchen to get some breakfast ready for the others; she knew that they would complain if they left without eating. She looked through what food that was available and for the sake of saving time she warmed up the left over rice from the day before and made eggs. She also made sure to prepare the milk for Kikyo. Then once everything was done she went upstairs to wake everyone up. Knocking their doors once then opening the door to tell them to get up. Then she went into Alice and Kikyo's room. She softly shook Alice and woke her up.

"Alice, it's time to wake up." She said sweetly.

Alice groaned in rolled over.

"Come on, breakfast is ready."

"What are we having for breakfast?" She asked sleepily as she began to sit up.

"Eggs and rice."

Alice yawned. "Okay."

Meyrin went over to Kikyo's cradle and took the sleeping baby into her arms. "We'll be waiting for you downstairs." Meyrin said and walked out the room and closed the door. She went downstairs were most of them were waiting in the dining room. She went into the kitchen to get Kikyo's milk then went into the dining room.

"So what's the plan?" Saeko asked.

"For now we need to find a way to get back to the city." Meyrin said and sat down.

"How? We don't have any transportation." Kohota said.

"For now, after breakfast I'm going out with a few of you to go look for a van." Meyrin said and she began to cradle the child gently as if trying to wake her up little by little.

"How long will they be away?" Saya asked.

"Hopefully not too long but there's no way to be sure." Meyrin said.

"Who's all coming with you?" Takashi asked.

"Well I think only one is going to come with me since I need at least two people here to stand guard."

"Only one?" Saeko said. "Are you sure that's enough."

Meyrin nodded her head "Yes, we're not going to stray too far and like I said there were less people in this area so less zombies." Kikyo began to wake up and Meyrin looked down at her with a smile.

"But are you sure?" Takashi asked.

"Positive." Meyrin said and looked at them with a stern look.

Saeko sighed and nodded her head in agreement. Then Alice came skipping into the dining room with Rei and Shizuka behind her.

"It's sooo early." Shizuka said as she stretched and sat down.

Once Rei sat down they began to eat but in silence, every once in a while someone would speak but the conversations never lasted. Meyrin however, was deep in thought, trying to figure out who she would take with her, she didn't want to take the strongest because she was pretty strong herself but she didn't want to take someone who would drag her down.

"Meyrin." Saeko repeated snapping Meyrin out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, I was thinking." Meyrin said as she looked over at Saeko.

"Let me be the one that comes with you." She said.

"It can't be you." Meyrin said.

"Why not? I'm strong enough."

"That's exactly the point; I want someone strong like you to stay here."

"Then take me." Kohota said.

"You're in expert with guns, yes?"

"Yeah."

"Then you'd be better here, I doubt you can run and shoot with the same amount of accuracy or the speed I will be running."

"Then take Takashi." Shizuka said with a yawn.

Meyrin was going to object but she couldn't think of anything to say. Takashi was a close range fighter and wasn't as strong as Saeko but was strong enough that he could pull his own weight and not drag her down.

Saeko nodded her head. "He's the only one left that could go."

Everyone looked at Meyrin and she nodded. "Takashi, you're coming with me."

"Alright, when are we leaving?" He asked.

Meyrin stood up and handed Kikyo to Saya. "Now."

Takashi stood up and nodded his head.

"Go get your things; we're leaving in five minutes." Meyrin said and walked out the dining room. She went down to the weapon inventory and hoped that their weapons were still there. She went down the stairs and walked past the office to the end of the hallway. She opened the door to reveal the wall and on the side a small keypad. She typed in the number and the wall moved out the way like door. She stepped in and the wall went back into place and for a second she stood in total darkness. She took a step forward and the lights turned on to reveal the inventory of weapons. She smirked as she picked out her chain-scythe, which was sitting in the same place where she had left it at. She grabbed a small bag and slung it over her shoulder, she was going to put a bit of food and water in it. She jogged back to the kitchen and filled up a few bottles of water and put fruit and bread in the bag. Then she came out to front room where Takashi and the others were waiting.

"You ready?" Meyrin asked as she walked up beside Takashi.

He nodded his head "Yeah."

"Good luck." Saeko said.

Meyrin nodded her and opened the doors where the sun was starting to shine a bit more. The sun felt nice on her skin, it felt like forever since she was last outside. She took in a deep breath and nodded to Takashi and they broke out on a run to the gates, as they ran they heard the doors close. When they reached the gates, Meyrin pressed in the code and they went out and closed the door as quietly and fast as possible. Once that was done they began to jog down the road, heading south. The birds were chirping and it was quiet, almost peaceful. It was strange how such a tragedy can create such peace and quiet. Maybe, just maybe, they themselves were the tragedy. Meyrin laughed under her breath at the thought of that.

"What's funny?" Takashi asked.

"Nothing." Meyrin said as a small smile crept onto her face. Takashi raised an eyebrow but decided to leave her to her thoughts. He was starting wonder what had happened between Meyrin and Aiko. "**Aiko seemed kind but then why would she have ran off with the RV? Is Meyrin hiding something from us? But why would she hide something from us? Maybe it's something with the incorporation they own but still, that doesn't matter to us." **He thought as he began to stare at Meyrin from the corner of his eye as he tried to unravel the mystery. Meyrin had noticed that he was looking at her but she brushed off, she was too busy scanning the streets for a van of some sort, they passed cars but a car wouldn't hold them all.

**"What does it take to find a van around these parts?" **She thought to herself. She looked over her shoulder; she didn't want to stray too far away from the house. She turned her head and continued to look ahead.

"Hey Takashi." She said.

"Yeah?" He said.

"We're going to run a bit faster, okay?"

"Okay." He said.

Once the last syllable was out his mouth Meyrin pushed off going faster than Takashi had predicted. It took him a second to realize that he was falling behind and he caught up with her.

"How do you run so fast?" He asked as he was running as fast as he could and still was behind her by a few inches.

"I'm not running fast." She said.

"Y-you're not?!" He said a bit surprised.

"No." She said shrugging.

If Takashi hadn't been running his head would have hung down in defeat. Here he thought he was one of the fastest runners but Meyrin easily out did him without trying. **"What is she a super human?" **He thought as they continued to run. Meyrin noticed that he was starting to struggle after twenty minutes of running.

"Do you want to start walking?" Meyrin asked.

"Y-yeah, I mean if… if you're ready to slow down." Takashi said trying to cover up how tired he was.

Meyrin smiled and shook her head "Okay." She said and they slowed down until they were walking.

"Phew!" Takashi said as he took in a deep breath.

"Tired?" She asked.

"Not at all." He said with a cheesy smile.

Meyrin then saw something out the corner of her eye coming towards them. "Watch out!" She said and pushed Takashi down to the ground and a spear flew above them. She looked over at the trees where the spear came flying. "Move!" She said as she jumped up and pulled Takashi to his feet along with her.

"What's going on?!" He asked as they began to run and more spears came flying at them.

"I don't know but we have to find something to hide behind." She said. Now that they needed cars to hide behind there were none. Another spear came flying and she stopped just in time so it wouldn't impale her. However Takashi ran into her since he didn't expect the sudden stop, and knocked them both over. Meyrin grunted as she hit the floor and Takashi landed on top of her.

"Takashi get off me!" She said and pushed him off and noticed another spear was coming. "Move!" she said and moved him and rolled away but she wasn't fast enough the spear managed to make a cut on her arm. She grabbed Takashi's hand and pulled him up and began to run, dragging him behind her.

"Try to keep up." She said as she began to run faster and faster. Takashi was starting to take longer and faster strides as he tried not to trip. Then Meyrin noticed a driveway up ahead, she made a sharp turn and began to run down the drive way and saw a small barn up ahead. "We're going into the barn!" She said.

"Okay!" Takashi said. They went into the barn and slammed the door close then they began to stack piles of hay against the door in an attempt to keep the ones who were attacking out. Then they stepped back and looked at the door and waited to hear banging but they never heard it. After a few minutes of total silence Meyrin sighed.

"I think it's safe." She said and sat down on the floor.

"Why were they after us?" Takashi said as he plopped down beside her.

"Who knows, they probably just wanted supplies or something." Meyrin said shrugging and laid down.

"They could have just asked." Takashi said.

"Yeah, but they didn't."

"So what now?"

"We wait a bit."

"Why?"

"Just in case they're still out there."

"Oh, right… are we going to go back to the house?"

"No, I don't want to lead them back, we'll find another car up the street and use that to get back."

"Okay." Takashi said.

"For now we'll just rest." She said and closed her eyes and slowed down her breathing. Takashi looked at Meyrin and was hypnotized by her appearance. Everything about her was just perfect. He reached his hand out to her, he wanted touch her, to make sure she was real. Little by little his hand began to move towards her face until it was only inches away. He wanted to touch her but something in the back of his mind was holding him back.

"If you're going to touch my face, then touch it." Meyrin said not bothering to open her eyes.

Takashi almost snatched his hand back but instead he went ahead and put his hand to her cheek. **"Her cheek is warm…" **He thought. He began to rub her cheek with his thumb, it was smoother than he had expected. His hand accidently brushed against her lips and she tensed up a bit. He moved his hand away to let her know that it was an accident. But now all his attention was on her lips. After a few seconds she relaxed and let out a sigh. Just as she was about to open her eyes she felt something soft press against her lips. Her eyes snapped open and a bright blush formed on her face as Takashi parted with her. She stared at him as he hovered over her. Her heart began to flutter as Takashi stared deeply into her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something but the words got stuck in her throat.

"Meyrin." He said softly and gazed warmly into her eyes. "I…"

His sentence was interrupted by loud banging on the door. He got off her and she sat up and they exchanged glances before they sprang up to their feet.

"What do we do now?" He whispered as the banging continued.

Meyrin looked around trying to see if there was another way out, something along the lines of a back door.

"Meyrin…" Takashi said as the banging became louder.

Meyrin looked up hoping to see a window but there was none. **"This is bad." **Going out a door or window was out the picture the only choice they had left was making their own way out. Meyrin walked over the opposite wall of the door and began to slash at the wood with her chain-scythe as silently as possible.

"Meyrin!" Takashi said as the banging was even louder than before.

"I'm working on it!" She said as she broke through the wood. "Come on!" She said as she slipped through the hole. Takashi dove out the hole after she was out. "Let's go." She whispered as they started to run in a crouching type of position, trying to keep themselves hidden. "This way." She said as they were about to go into a ditch. Then there was a yell that resembled that of an Indian war call. Meyrin heard a few more yells from the other side of the barn. **"Are they idiots?! If they make this much noise they'll attract the zombies!" **She thought as jumped down into the ditch with Takashi right behind her. They ran as fast their feet could carry them. Spears began to shoot into the ditch as they ran. **"So there's a zombie outbreak and the human race decides to go back in time, of course." **Meyrin though a bit annoyed and wondering what their logic was based on. She felt something stab into her arm. She flinched and then looked over at her left arm and in it was a dart. She snatched it out and threw it to the ground, and continued to run.

"What are we going to do if zombies show up?" Takashi asked as he dodged a spear.

"Then I guess we'll just have to…"

Her sentence was cut off by an ear piercing scream, followed by a few others.

"I think that's them…" Takashi said as they looked upwards. The spears stopped and whoever was attacking them retreated but the screams were still being heard. They had to get out the ditch, if the zombies came in there would be no escape.

"Come on." Meyrin said as she began to climb up the side of the ditch. They got out and they could see the zombies coming out of the trees going after the group of people.

"We have to do something." Takashi said.

"No we don't." Meyrin said and began to run alongside the ditch.

"But they're getting killed!" He said as he followed behind her.

"Oh well, they tried to kill us, that's what they get."

"But…"

"But nothing, if you want to go back and risk your life for the ones who wanted to kill you, then go ahead." Meyrin said and looked at him from the corner of her eye.

Takashi stayed silent not knowing what to say afterwards. They ran past the crowd of screaming people. It was quite gruesome, seeing decomposed bodies eat the living, blood, organs, eyes, flying everywhere. It made Meyrin sick to her stomach but she kept the feeling down, they had to get out of the crowd that grew larger and larger with each passing step. None the less, they were able to escape after running like what seemed forever. They ended up near a field and they both were bent over trying to catch their breath. Then suddenly Meyrin felt a sharp pain in her arm where the dart was put in. She grabbed it in an attempt to stop the pain but it began to throb. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to make the pain go away but the more she stayed like that the more the pain and throbbing spread through her body. **"What was in that dart…" **She thought as her legs gave out on her and she fell to the ground with a thud.

"Meyrin!" Takashi said and kneeled down beside her. "Meyrin! What's wrong?!" He said.

Meyrin's breath started to become shorter and shorter and more painful as each second passed.

"The dart…" She said and took in a breath. "It was poisoned…"

Takashi's eyes widen in horror "We have to get you back!" He said and picked her up bridal style, she was lighter than what he had expected. Meyrin nodded ever so slightly and he began to run but he took another way to avoid the zombies. He ran as fast as he could, telling Meyrin to hold on every few seconds and telling her to say something to make sure that she was alive. It wasn't until then that he realized how far they had gone. The poison had probably already circulated throughout her whole body since they were running. There had to be a faster way. Takashi spotted a car and ran over to it, he opened the passenger door and put Meyrin in and buckled up the seatbelt. Then he went to the driver's side and went in, luckily it was one of the automatic cars that didn't need keys. He started the engine and soon he was speeding through the street, hitting the few zombies that appeared. Five minutes passed and the house was in sight, he turned and stopped the car from hitting the gate.

"Meyrin." He said shaking her gently. Her skin tone had already turned a shade lighter but he needed her to tell him the passcode. She groaned. "I need you to tell me the passcode to get inside the gates." She groaned again. "Meyrin please." He begged. Her mouth opened but no words came out just soft little groans. "Meyrin you have to try harder, I can't hear you." He said with a worried expression.

She tried to speak again "Two…" She mumbled.

"Two, okay." Takashi said.

"Five…"

"Five." He repeated.

"Zero…" She took in a deep breath. "…Seven."

"Two, five, zero, seven." Takashi said.

"Star…" She said.

"Is that it?"

Her head barely moved but it was enough to let him know. He ran out the car and pressed the code in and the gates opened he ran back to the car and drove through the gates. Then he ran out the car and closed the gates. He got back into the car and sped up the drive way and came to a screeching stop at the front door. He rushed out the car and took Meyrin in his arms and ran inside the house.

"Shizuka!" He said as he ran to the living room.

"Takashi what's wrong?" Saeko said as she came over to him.

"There's something wrong with Meyrin, she said something about a poisoned dart hitting her." He said.

"A poisoned dart?!" Shizuka said as she came in. "We need to treat her now! Take her to her room and I'll go get supplies, Saeko come with me!" She said as she ran to get the first aid kit. Takashi ran up the stairs and took Meyrin to her room and put her on the bed. She was starting to sweat and her cheeks were starting to turn a light shade of pink. He looked at her worriedly and put his hand on her forehead. **"She's burning up!" **He thought. He went into the bathroom and soaked a rag in cold water then put it on her forehead, it was the best that he could do for now. Shizuka burst in with Saeko right behind her.

"Takashi, do me a favor and wait outside." Shizuka said as she pulled her hair up into a bun and Saeko did the same thing. Takashi hesitated for a second but the walked out the room and closed the door behind him.

"Takashi what happened?" Kohota asked.

"I don't know, I think she was poisoned." Takashi said.

"Poisoned?! With what?!" Saya said as she came up to them with Kikyo in her arms and Alice beside her.

"A dart." He said.

"When?!" Kohota asked.

"We were running away from some attackers and something must have hit her while were running because she suddenly collapsed." Takashi said.

"Is she going to be okay?" Saya asked.

Takashi looked down not knowing what to say.

"Meyrin is gonna be okay, right?" Alice said as she tugged at his sleeve.

"I hope so." He said and put his hand on her head. "I really do." He whispered to himself. One thing on his mind other than Meyrin was the where abouts of Rei.

"Where's Rei?" He asked.

"I think she went back to sleep." Saya said.

"Oh, okay…" Takashi said and looked down the hallway then back at the door where Meyrin was. What seemed like days to Takashi when in reality only a few hours had passed until Saeko and Shizuka finally came out.

"How is she?!" Takashi said.

"We managed to get the fever under control but its borderline." Shizuka said.

"And the poison?" Saya asked.

"We didn't have anything to work with the best we could do was give her some antibiotics and hope that her immune system will be able to fight it off." Shizuka said as she took her hair down.

"Is she awake?" Takashi asked.

Saeko shook her head "No, she passed out a few minutes after we gave her the antiniotics."

"CanI go see her?" Takashi asked.

"Yes." Shizuka said as she moved out the way of the door. "We're going to look around for herbs to see if we can make some sort of herbal tea that might help."

"Thank you." He said and went into the room. He stepped beside the bed where Meyrin laid and he looked down at her with a sad expression and brushed his hand against her cheek. She groaned a bit and he moved his hand back and waited for her to settle back into her sleep. He sighed and sat in the chair beside the bed and buried his head into his hands. He felt like this was all his fault, that he did something wrong and caused this to happen. **"I'm an idiot." **


	11. Goodbye

Takashi never left Meyrin's side, only to use the bathroom but other than that he was constantly keeping watch over her sleeping body. It had been two days since they returned but it seemed like an eternity to him without her. He took her hand and rubbed his thumb against the back of it. He did it with such care, as if he thought she would shatter like glass. He used his free hand and caressed her cheek that was tinted with a light pink. Her eyebrows furrowed and a small groan escaped her lips. Takashi watched her hoping that this would be the time she would wake up. In the past two days occurrences similar to the present one would occur, however, sleep would take over her before she was awake. Her fingers twitched in his hand and he grasped her hand a bit tighter hoping with all his might that she would finally awaken.

"Meyrin…" He spoke softly.

Her eyes fluttered open at the sound of his voice but right afterwards she closed them. The light had blinded her; slowly she opened her eyes again and let her eyes adjust to the light. She looked around in the blur she saw, blinking every few seconds until everything was in focus and she saw Takashi smiling down at her.

"Taka…" Before she could finish her sentence Takashi brought her into a hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay." He said and buried his head into her hair.

"Takashi…" She said in surprise.

"I was so worried about you." He said. Meyrin lowered her eyelids a bit.

"I'm sorry." She said softly.

He shook his head and let go of her so he could look at her in the eyes. "You don't have a reason to be sorry." He put her hand against her cheek. Meyrin looked at him in surprised but her gaze soften and she put her hand over his and closed her eyes. "Meyrin…"

"Hm?"

"Look at me."

She opened her eyes and Takashi took her hands into his. "Meyrin there's something I've been meaning to tell you…" He paused and averted his eyes.

"What?" She asked curiously.

He looked back at her and stared into her blue eyes that were as deep as the ocean itself. "Meyrin, I..."

He was interrupted by Shizuka who had burst into the room.

"Meyrin you are awake!" She said and rushed over to her completely pushing Takashi out the way. Meyrin looked over Shizuka's shoulder to make sure he was okay. He just smiled and waved it off.

"How are you feeling?" Shizuka asked.

"Uh, well I still feel a bit tired and a bit hungry." Meyrin said.

"I'll go tell everyone you're awake and I'll make some lunch for you." Shizuka said with a kind smile.

"What time is it?" Meyrin asked.

"It's around two."

"Okay, thanks."

"Well I'll go get started." Shizuka said and scurried out the room. Meyrin laughed under her breath and shook her head a bit. "_She's so energetic." _She looked over at Takashi who was staring down at his feet.

"Takashi?" Meyrin said gaining his attention.

"Huh? Oh well I guess I'll let you get changed or whatever." Takashi said as he was about to start walking.

"Didn't you say you wanted to tell me something?"

"Oh, well uh, it's nothing." Takashi said heading to the door. "I'll see you around." He said and left her room, closing the door behind him.

"_I wonder what all that was about…" _Meyrin thought as she stared at the door.

~_Later that day~_

"So what exactly happened?" Saeko asked as she took a bite of her cake.

Meyrin put down her cup and sighed "We were running through a ditch to get away from some attackers that were using spears and darts. One the darts hit me while we were running and it was poisoned, so well you know how that turned out."

"They were using darts and spears?" Saya asked.

"Yeah, it's not a bad idea, that is, until you run into zombies. A lot of them were killed." Meyrin took a sip of her tea.

"You ran into zombies?" Saeko asked.

"Yeah, but we were in the ditch so we were safe from the zombies." Takashi said.

"I'm just glad none of the zombies came into the ditch." Meyrin said.

"Yeah, that would have been bad." Takashi said. There was a brief silence.

"So what do we do now?" Kohota asked.

Meyrin sighed and sat back in her chair a bit. "I don't know, we didn't find any cars or vans that would fit us all."

"Well we could always use separate cars." Shizuka suggested.

"I was thinking about that but if we were to enter a huge mob of zombies we might lose track of each other." Meyrin said.

"So then what do we do?" Rei asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"We could walk there but I don't want to risk the safety of the children." Meyrin said.

"Are we stuck here?" Alice asked innocently.

Saya looked over at her with a smile and patted her head. "Of course not, we'll find a way out of here."

"Well I suppose…"

The phone rang as Meyrin spoke and everyone looked over at it, wondering who would be calling. Meyrin stood up and walked over to the phone and picked it up. She waited about five seconds before answering.

"Hello?" Her voice cracked.

There was a chuckle on the other end and the call ended. Meyrin looked at the phone then put it back on the stand.

"Who was it?" Kohota asked.

"I don't know." Meyrin said as she looked at the phone expecting it to ring again.

"Don't you have caller I.D?" Rei asked.

Meyrin picked the phone up and began to look through the calls. Her eyes widen and she brought her hands over her mouth as the phone hit the ground.

"What's wrong?!" Takashi asked as he rushed to her side. "Who called?"

Everyone else was standing up as if ready to catch her if she were to fall.

"The call." She said and looked up at him. "It... was from the mansion."

"What?" Takashi asked.

"It was from the mansion." She said as shook her head.

"Could it have been Aiko?" Saeko asked.

"No, it didn't sound like her voice."

"_Who could have called? There's no way someone was able to break through the security system and everyone is dead."_

"Was it a male or female?" Shizuka asked.

"I don't know, they just laughed and hung up."

"That's it?" Saya asked.

Meyrin nodded her head and picked up the phone. "I have to go back."

"We'll go with you." Saya said as she stood up.

"No, I don't want to get you guys involved in this."

"What?" Takashi said. "We're already involved."

"No you're not, besides I need you guys to stay here and take care of Alice and Kikyo."

"You don't need six people to take care of two children."

"No but I do need three to be able to stand guard over the other five." Meyrin said as she turned around and walked away. "You guys aren't coming with me."

Takashi grabbed her wrist "I'm coming with you no matter what you say."

"No, you're not." She said and turned to face him with a stern glare.

"Yes, I am, you can't stop me."

"Then I'll just leave when you least expect it."

"Then I'll always be expecting it."

"That's impossible."

He pulled on her wrist making her press against him. "It's not."

A blush made its way across Meyrin's cheeks. She looked away and growled. "Fine ,but only you."

He smiled triumphantly and kissed her forehead.

"Ahem." Saeko said.

Meyrin took a step away from Takashi and looked down trying to hide her blush.

"So then Takashi is going with you?" She asked.

"Yeah." Meyrin said in a defeated tone.

"Why Takashi?" Rei asked.

"Because he insisted on it." Meyrin said.

"Okay, then I want to go with you too." Rei said as she stood up.

"No." Meyrin said.

"Why not?" Rei asked.

"Because you'll only get in the way." Meyrin said coldly and turned away from her.

Rei gritted her teeth and stomped over to Meyrin. Meyrin was about a hair taller than Rei. Rei glared at Meyrin but Meyrin didn't change her expression and just looked down at her.

"Why you!" Rei said and slapped Meyrin. Meyrin took a step back and brought her hand up to her cheek and narrowed her eyes at Rei. Meyrin took a step forward and raised her hand to repay Rei. Rei took a step back in fear and that's when Takashi moved in between the two.

"That's enough." Takashi said sternly.

Meyrin looked up at Takashi in surprise. "_He's protecting her?! I should have known." _Meyrin glared at him the turned on her heels and headed to her room.

"Takashi…" Rei said and looked at him as Meyrin left the room. Takashi looked over his shoulder angrily and Rei shrunk back.

"Why the hell did you slap her?!" He said.

"I-I…" She said.

He growled and turned away from her and went after Meyrin. He ran up the stairs and as he reached the second floor he saw her door closed.

"Meyrin." He said as he went up to her door. "Meyrin open the door." He begged. There was no response. "Meyrin." He said again.

Meyrin sat on her bed and brought her knees up to her chest. "_I should have known, he's still in love with that girl."_

"Meyrin." Takashi said. "Meyrin open the door."

Meyrin glared at the door and stayed silent.

"Meyrin." He said again.

"What." She said harshly.

"Open the door please, let's talk about this."

"Talk? Ha, there's nothing to talk about."

"Please, just hear me out."

"I'm listening."

She heard a sigh. "Meyrin, look, I'm sorry if I did something wrong but I didn't do it to protect her, I did it for you."

"Yeah, right." Meyrin said rolling her eyes.

"

Please, Meyrin, believe me, if you were to hit her then Saeko, Shizuka, and Saya would have gotten involved, not only that but you would have looked bad in front of Alice."

She hated to admit it but he was right. She looked away towards the window and felt a bit of guilt tug at her.

"I understand if you're mad at me but I just wanted to let you know why I did it."

She heard his footstep and she ran to the door and swung it open and grabbed Takashi. "I-I'm sorry." She said looking down.

He looked down at her and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her forehead. "You don't have to be sorry for anything." He said gently.

She looked up at him and brought her hand up to his cheek and leaned up to kiss him. Takashi pressed his hand against the small of her back, merging their bodies. She felt his tongue brush against her lips but decided to play hard to get and kept her mouth closed. He smiled into the kiss and pressed her into the wall roughly. She gasped at the sudden impact and he took this chance and slipped his tongue into her mouth. It was now a battle for dominance, a battle that he won. He explored every part of her mouth. His hands began to slide up her shirt. When Meyrin felt his cold hands touch her stomach she shivered and pushed him away gently.

"Takashi, that's enough…" She said and looked away blushing.

Takashi smirked and leaned down to whisper in her ear "We'll finish this later."

"W-what?" Meyrin said as her face turned a darker shade of red.

He laughed at her reaction. "I'm just kidding."

Meyrin playful punched him. Little did they know that Rei was watching the entire thing and was burning in anger. "_How dare she?! Takashi is mine! I've been with him through all those years and suddenly she comes back and she thinks she can take him away from me?! No! Only one of us can stay by Takashi's side and that will be me!" _Rei thought as she glared at Meyrin. She then walked into her room slamming the door shut. "_Meyrin I won't let you have Takashi!"_

Meyrin and Takashi looked over at the door that just slammed closed. Meyrin only sighed and turned and went into Kikyo's room. She walked over to the crib and Kikyo was already awake, playing or chewing on her toys. Meyrin smiled kindly at her and Kikyo stretched her arms out.

"M-mmm-ma." The baby said.

Meyrin's eyes widen a bit.

"Mma." Kikyo said a bit more clearly.

"She's calling you." Takashi said as he wrapped his arms around Meyrin's waist.

Meyrin smiled and took Kikyo in her arms and she giggled a bit. Takashi rested his chin on Meyrin's head.

"You know she looks just like you, maybe you really are her mother." Takashi said jokingly.

Meyrin looked down at the baby and she felt happy. "I wish. I would love to be a mother." Meyrin said as she caressed the baby. Takashi took a mental note, Meyrin wanted to be a mother.

"Let's go back down stairs." Takashi suggested.

"Okay." Meyrin said as he let her go so she could walk comfortably.

Meyrin started back down the stairs and Takashi caught up to her and wrapped an arm around her waist keeping ger close. Meyrin smiled and

Takashi kissed her head.

"Look at you three!" Shizuka squealed. "You're so adorable!"

"Thank you." Meyrin said shyly.

"You guys would make a perfect family." Shizuka said.

"You hear that?" Takashi said as he looked at Meyrin. "Maybe we should try to have our own child."

"W-what?" Meyrin said blushing.

"I bet you guys would make a beautiful child." Shizuka said with smile.

"What do you say?" Takashi whispered in Meyrin's ear.

"I-I… Uhm…"

Shizuka and Takashi laughed.

"When she's ready." Shizuka said as she patted Takashi's shoulder and went up the stairs. Meyrin was looking down at Kikyo as a thousand thoughts rushed through her head. Takashi placed a kiss on her cheek snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Uhm… were you serious about uhm, us having a child?" Meyrin mumbled.

"No, well unless you want one."

"No, no! One is fine for now!" Meyrin stammered.

"For now." He said smirking.

"L-Let's just go!" She said and started to go down the stairs.

"Okay, okay." Takashi said and followed her. They walked past the dining room where Saeko and Saya were having a conversation. Alice was sitting on the table playing around with a fork. Alice looked up and notice that Meyrin was holding Kikyo. Alice jumped out her chair and rushed over to Meyrin.

"Can I see Kikyo?" Alice asked as she tugged at Meyrin's pants.

"Of course." Meyrin said and knelt down so Alice could see Kikyo.

"She's so small." Alice said as Kikyo wrapped her hand around her finger. "Are you going to be the mommy and Takashi the daddy?"

Before Meyrin could say anything Takashi cut in.

"Yeah, we're her parents now." He said and knelt down beside them.

"Really? Can I be part of the family!?" Alice begged.

"We're all family." Meyrin said smiling kindly.

Alice put a finger up to her chin. "Does that mean Saya is my mommy?"

Meyrin nodded her head.

"Who's my daddy?"

"Hm, why don't you ask Saya." Takashi said.

"Okay." Alice chimed and she skipped over to the kitchen.

Meyrin and Takashi stood up. "What do you think she'll say?" Meyrin asked.

"Who knows? Come one let's go sit down in the living room."

"Tired of standing already?" Meyrin challenged.

"Not yet, but I like sitting."

Meyrin shook her head and laughed a bit. "Okay then."

He led her to the living room and plopped down on the sofa and pulled her down onto his lap. "Comfortable?" He asked.

"Mhhmmm." She looked down at Kikyo and let her wrap her hand around her finger. "What about you?"

"Very." He said as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Hey Takashi."

"Hm?"

"Are you sure you want to come with me back to the city?"

"Yes."

"It's going to be dangerous."

"Okay."

Meyrin sighed and looked over at him. "Look Takashi, I know you want to come with me so you can make sure I'm safe but I think it would be safer if you just stayed here."

"Hmm, you're right but, I'm still going."

"Taka-"

"Meyrin listen, anything you say won't make me change my mind, I'm coming with you and that's that."

Meyrin sighed "Okay, okay."

"When are we going to leave?"

"As soon as possible."

"When might that be?"

"Maybe in a few days." Meyrin said as she began to play with Kikyo.

"Hm, okay." He said as he began to run his fingers through her hair. A few minutes passed as they sat in silence and after a while Takashi decided to speak up.

"Meyrin." He said softly.

There was no response.

"Meyrin?" He repeated as he shifted them over so he could look at her. It turned out that both Meyrin and Kikyo had fallen asleep. He smiled down at them and decided to take them down to their own rooms. First he set Meyrin down on the sofa and took Kikyo from her arms and started up the stairs. He put her in cradle and made sure that she was covered up completely. He went back down the stairs where Meyrin was still sound asleep. He didn't blame her though; it was getting a bit late. He picked her up bridal style and carried her up to her room. He set her down on the bed and pulled the covers over her shoulders. He didn't want to leave her side so he just stood there, looking at her.

"Takashi." Meyrin mumbled.

"H-huh?" He said.

"Get in bed, I'm cold." She said.

A bit of pink spread across his cheeks. "O-okay." He climbed into be beside her and as soon as he was settled in Meyrin clung to him.

"You're warm." She said.

"And you're cold." He said and wrapped his arms around her bringing her closer to him. "Meyrin."

"Hm?"

"… good night."

"Mm."

They both drifted off to sleep and soon the house fell silent.

Everyone was asleep, or so that's what you would think. However inside of a certain someone's room they stayed up plotting revenge.

"Ahaha, Meyrin I'm coming for you." Rei said as she tightened the grip she had on the knife. She snuck out her room quietly and walked down the hallway toward the last rooms. She opened the door on the right and opened the door and slowly walked into the room. She saw two lumps under the blanket and jealousy started to boil inside her. She walked over to the side of the bed and moved the covers ever so slightly so she could get a better view. Meyrin stir a bit and Rei smiled when she saw the long strands of black hair. She held up the knife ready to pierce right through Meyrin's heart.

"Good bye." She said.


	12. Someone anyone

"Good bye." She brought down the sword but before it could reach Meyrin she was tackled. The knife flew out her hand and she began to throw punches at whoever it was. "Let me go!"

"What the hell do you think you were doing!?" Takashi said as he pinned her down.

Meyrin sat up and jumped out the bed knocking the pillow that was beside her out the bed as well.

"What's going on?!" Meyrin said as she strained her eyes trying to see through the darkness.

Rei saw this as a window of opportunity while Takashi was distracted. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him down onto her forcing his lips against her. Meyrin heard muffled voices and stumbled to the wall and turned on the light. What she saw next made her stomach twist and heart drop. She was immediately filled with rage and stormed out the room. Takashi managed to pry Rei off him and went after Meyrin. Rei sat up with a satisfied look upon her face, it wasn't exactly what she wanted but it would get her the same result.

"Meyrin!" Takashi said as he caught up to her and tried to reach out to her.

"Don't touch me!" Meyrin said and slapped his hand away as she went down the stairs.

"Please just listen to me." He begged as he continued to follow her.

"Why so you could just tell me another one of your pretty lies?! No, I'm done."

"Meyrin don't do this, you don't want to do this."

"Oh yes I do." She said as they passed through the living room.

"Just hear me out! I can explain."

She rolled her eyes as she went down the stairs that led down to towards the office and weaponry room. "Well, you can go explain to someone else because I'm not listening."

"Please Meyrin…"

"No, I'm not going to listen no matter what you say." She said as she reached the bottom step and went straight to the weaponry room. She typed in the numbers into the keypad and went in. She didn't want to deal with all this; she had more important things to do. She changed into a camouflage jump suit and black boots. She grabbed a 15 M Python and a Mini Uzi and stuffed the MAGs into her pockets. She also made sure to take a pocket knife with her. After that was said and done she walked out to see Takashi still waiting there. By now everyone was awake asking what was going on.

"Meyrin." He pleaded.

She pushed by him and went up the stairs to meet the group of curious teenagers.

"Meyrin, what's going on?" Saeko asked.

"I'm leaving." Meyrin said as she headed to the front door.

"What about Takashi?"

"I don't want him near me." Meyrin growled as she opened the door.

Saeko looked back at Takashi with questioning/threatening gaze. Takashi didn't notice, he was still focused on getting Meyrin to stay.

"Meyrin don't do this." He said as he walked after her.

Meyrin ignored him and turned to Saya. "Saya, please take care of Kikyo while I'm gone, once I've solved this, I'll come back for you guys."

"Let me come with you." Saeko said.

Meyrin shook her head. "No, I need you here to stay in charge, you're the only one I can trust."

Saeko looked at her with a sadden gaze but nodded her head. "I'll make sure everything stays in order till you come back."

"Thank you." Meyrin bowed and she turned on her heels to walk out the door but Takashi grabbed onto her wrist. "Let me go." She growled.

"At least hear me out before you go." Takashi said.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say." Meyrin said and pulled her wrist out his grip.

"Meyr..." He stopped midsentence as he stared into the barrel of the gun she was holding in her hand.

"I said I didn't want to hear anything you said." She said.

Takashi felt a lump form in his throat and he looked at her. Her eyes showed no emotion or hesitation, if she had to she would shoot him. He held his hands up and took a step back. "Okay, okay, I get it."

Meyrin put her arm down "Good." She said and started down the drive way.

Rei stood in the window watching happily as she watched the scene that unfolded before her. "I told you, you wouldn't win." She said to herself.

Meyrin walked down the drive way as a cold breeze blew by, slightly making her hair flutter. However, once she was out of sight she broke out in a jog. Once she reached the gates she punched in the code and left, making sure the gate was locked. Then she ran down the street in search for a car, since it was only her this time it didn't matter what type, she just needed one. She entered the first car she came across and sped off towards the city. However with so many thoughts crossing her mind she didn't bother to check the amount of gas that was in the car. It was a reasonable amount but not enough to he her there. After an hour and a half of driving the car stopped running, and it was still late at night. She sighed in frustration and got out the car, closing the door a bit more roughly than expected. _"Damn car." _She thought and kicked the wheel lightly. Sadly for her, that triggered the alarm. _"You have to be kidding me!" _She thought. She decided to just leave it be and run. She ran down the streets with the guns in her hands just in case she was to run into any zombies. At this point in time everything was starting to frustrate her, even her own hair that kept falling into her face. She was just about ready to cut it off, as a matter of fact that's exactly what she did after putting up with it for fifteen minutes. She stopped running, put the guns down, took her hair in one hand, took the pocket knife out her pocket with the other hand and cut off her hair. She took the fistful of hair and let the wind carry it away. Her hair now framed her face with a few pieces that were longer than the others but that didn't matter to her. She put the pocket knife back in her pocket and picked up the guns. Just as she was about to start running a car zoomed by but stopped a few feet ahead of her. She looked at it with a raised eyebrow as it started in reverse and stopped right beside her. She gripped the guns tightly and took a few steps back ready to shot if needed too. The window rolled down and two men were in the car around their mid-thirties to early fourties.

"Hey there." The man in the passenger seat said, eyeing Meyrin from head to toe.

"…Hello…" Meyrin said.

"You need a ride there honey, it's dangerous for a little girl like you." He said.

"Ah, well this little girl can take care of herself." Meyrin said as she began to walk.

"Hey, hey, I didn't mean to make you angry." He said as the car began to drive alongside her. "I just don't want to see a pretty little thing like you get hurt."

"Don't worry I'll be fine." Meyrin said.

"Come on we'll take care of you real good." He said. The man driving car made a comment and laughed.

She sighed in annoyance and pointed the gun at the man. "I don't need to be taken care of."

The laughing stopped and the man in the passenger seat jumped back.

"O-okay, okay! You don't need help." He stammered.

She moved the gun's aim from his head to the front wheel of the car. "Good, now drive before I shoot."

"Go! She's a pshyco!" He said. The man in the driver's seat stepped on the gas and sped away. Meyrin smirked in satisfaction as she watched them disappear from her sight. She began to jog down the street and every once in a while she would stop to take a breath. After doing this for several hours she was finally starting to get tired. A few rays of light were starting to show themselves in the distance. _"Maybe it's time for a break." _She thought as she looked around trying to find somewhere she can sleep at. She could sleep in a tree if she really wanted to but she didn't, but by the looks of it, there wasn't going to be anywhere else to stay but a tree. She sighed and walked into the forest trying to pick out a tree that was semi-decent. Eventually she got tired of looking so she just climbed up the next tree that came up. She got up into the higher branches that way nothing could reach her. _"If I roll in my sleep I'll fall… to my death…" _She thought as she looked down. She looked up at the branches above her then at the one she was on. An idea sprang into her head and she ripped the sleeves and pant legs of the jumpsuit. She then tied one end of the cloth to the branch she was on then to the one above her. With the next one she tied it across from the previous one and after that one she tied one a foot or two away from the previous one and the next one was across from that one. It now looked the pieces of cloth were like pillars keeping the branches apart. Meyrin nodded at her work and lay down in between the pieces of cloth. If she were to roll they would stop her, or so she hoped. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

"What the hell did you do to make her so angry?!" Saeko said as everyone sat down in the living room, wanting to know what happened. "She left!"

Takashi shook his head and buried his head into his hands.

"I don't see what's so bad about her leaving." Rei said as she crossed her legs.

Everyone looked at her with an expression that said 'What?'

"I mean, she had to go for her own reasons, so why stop her? It must have been important if she left in a hurry." Rei continued trying not to make herself like the bad guy.

Takashi glared at her "This is your fault." He growled.

"My fault? How is this my fault?" Rei asked.

Takashi lifted his head "You were going to kill her but when that failed you decided to run her away by making me look like I cheated on her." He said as he stood up in front of her.

"W-what?! You're lying!"

He grabbed her wrist forcing her to stand up. "I'm not lying and you know I'm not!"

Rei glared at him then decided to make herself look the damsel in distress. "Stop it! You're hurting me!" She whined. "Saeko tell him to stop!"

"Takashi, that's enough!" Saeko said as she pried him off her.

"I'm going after Meyrin." Takashi said as he turned on his heels.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."Rei said.

"And why not?" Takashi said not bothering to face her.

"She seemed pretty angry when she left. I mean she pointed a gun at you, what if she were to kill you?"

"Then I'd be dead." He said heading to his room to get the bat that Meyrin had gotten him. He also changed while he was at it. He pulled on his faded jeans, a black t-shirt and a jacket. He grabbed the bat and headed out the room. The group of teens waited for him at the bottom of the stairs. Kohota put a hand on his shoulder and nodded to him.

"Make sure to bring her back alive."

"You can bet your life that I will." Takashi said with a smirk.

"When you get back I hope you can explain everything, clearly." Saeko said.

"And you better make sure you don't mess up or we'll kill you." Saya said.

Rei stood in the back with her arms crossed over her chest. This is not what she wanted but she wasn't going to give up that easily, she was going to find a way to take Takashi away from Meyrin.

"Well, I leave this place to you guys, it better still be standing when I come back." Takashi said as he ran out the house and towards the gates. Luckily he had remembered the code to let himself out. Once that was done he ran down the street. He knew that Meyrin was a faster runner than him and by now that she had probably covered six miles at the least, ten at the most. What he didn't know that Meyrin had taken a car and was already past those ten miles when he started to change. He ran until he was out of breath and began to walk he looked around searching for a vehicle. He came across a motorcycle and smile in satisfaction. He mounted the bike started the engine and sped off.

A scream woke Meyrin from her sleep causing her to clumsily sit up and almost fall off the branch if it wasn't for the pieces of cloth. Meyrin settled herself and looked around trying to find out where the scream was coming from. Then she heard something that sounded similar to… a car? Next thing she knows there was a loud crash and she was knocked out the tree. Something broke her fall that barely managed to save her life although she was feeling a sharp pain in her right leg. She looked to see what it was that had broken her fall, it was a zombie. She screamed and rolled away from it. She sat up and it started to crawl towards her. Meyrin looked around hoping that her guns had fallen down with her. She spotted one but it was on the other side of the zombie. She began to scoot back while ignoring the pain in her leg but ran into a tree. She looked at the zombie in fear and just as it was about to lunge at her another scream was heard, taking the zombie's attention just enough for Meyrin to regain her senses. She then lunged at the zombie taking its head into her hands and ripping it off the body. She stood up and made sure not to put too much weight on her right leg. Then she heard a gunshot fire as there was another panicked scream. Then more shots were fired along with more screams. She looked back to where she saw her gun and a woman stood there with the gun firing aimlessly into a group of zombies that was starting to close in on her.

_"She's wasting the bullets." _Meyrin thought as she looked around. She couldn't find the other gun; it was still in the tree. Then suddenly there was an explosion, it wasn't until then that she noticed that there was car that crashed into the tree she was in earlier. The woman screamed again as the zombies began to lunge onto her, eating at her flesh. It wasn't a very pretty sight to see with all the blood and flesh being torn off the bone, not only that but the trees were starting to catch fire. Meyrin's stomach twisted at the sight of it. She shook her head and tried to formulate a plan. She either had to get the gun or get away. Meyrin looked around and found a rock she threw it at a tree a few feet to the left of the zombies. Some looked up and began to shuffle in thedirection. She grabbed another rock and this time threw it with a bit more force. The rest of the zombies looked over and followed the sound leaving what was left of the woman's body. Meyrin took a step forward and almost let out a small yelp of pain but she bit her lip to keep it in. She looked down at her leg that was twisted at an awkward angle. _"I must have dislocated my leg when I fell out the tree." _She thought. She looked back over at the woman's dead body then at the group of zombies that were trying to eat a tree. It was almost funny, almost. Meyrin took in a breath and ran over to the body. Once there she collapsed onto the ground a few feet away from the body. The smell was disgusting. Meyrin reached over to grab the gun. She took the gun but then suddenly the hand grabbed her wrist, scaring Meyrin. She yelped, grabbing the attention of the other zombies. Meyrin used her free hand to shoot the gun and kill the zombie. She pried its hand off her wrist as the others started to close in on her. Meyrin stood up and leaned against the tree behind her but immediately pushed off it when she felt her back burn. The tree was on fire and there were zombies closing in on her, she was cornered. Her mind was starting to enter a state of panic. Meyrin gripped the gun tightly and pointed it at a zombie and fired it, only to find out it was out of bullets. She cursed under her breath as a shaky hand reached into her pocket to grab a MAG. She pulled it out but it was the wrong one. She tossed it aside and looked to see that a zombie was lunging at her. Her eyes widen and she jumped away. Not being able to land properly she landed on her side. She heard a cracking above her; she looked up to see a branch falling. She rolled out the way just barely escaping for the third time that day. The zombies redirected their attention, shuffling towards her. She stood up again and reached in her pocket grabbing another MAG but once again it was the wrong one. Her hands began to shake in fear as she threw it aside. She glanced up at the zombies, they might be dead but they were shuffling at a faster pace than she expected. She reached into her pocket and grabbed the last one; the others were in the bottom half of her jumpsuit which was probably burned by the flames. She felt a small wave of relief sweep over her, it was the right one. She took the gun and took out the empty MAG, clumsily dropping the gun at the same time. She cursed and grabbed the gun. She began to panic as she tried to fit the MAG into the gun, putting it in wrong. A branch fell down beside her and she flinched, dropping both the MAG and the gun. The grass around her quickly caught fire engulfing both the gun and the MAG. Her eyes widen in horror and she looked up to see the zombies walking through the fire. Another branch fell down and this time she yelped and closed her eyes. They snapped open a second later and she began to try to limp away but the fires were blocking her escape. She was trapped with no escape. She looked around in fear tearing at her mind to find a way out but there was none. Her heart started to beat fast as the zombies closed in on her; a few caught fire and collapsed but not enough. She pressed her back against the tree and looked in horror at the zombies that enclosed her with raging flames around her. It was hell itself. Her breath quickened along with her heart and she closed her eyes a few tears escaping them.

_"Someone… anyone…save me from the zombies… please."_

There was a roar of an engine and the sound of something crashing. Meyrin's eyes snapped open and then widen.

"T-takashi." She said.

Takashi gripped the bat tightly and charged at the zombies while yelling. He took the zombies out right and left like any other time but to Meyrin it looked like something else. Maybe it was just the adrenaline rushing through her veins or the heat of the flames, whatever the reason was it changer her perspective of Takashi. She watched in amazement as he fought, never once did he waver. A feeling began to rise in her heart and she put her hand over it.

_"What is this feeling? I've never felt it before… it's… warm and fuzzy… Like, like..." _She thought. She couldn't describe it the feeling it was something new to her it was more powerful than what she had been previously had been feeling. What exactly was she feeling? He took the zombies out then turned to her.

"Let's go before any more come." He said as he was about to start running.

"W-wait… I can't run." She said.

"What do you mean?" He asked as he came closer to her.

"I… my leg, it's dislocated." She said motioning to her leg.

His eyes widen the slightest bit when he noticed the angle her leg was bent at. He went up to her and picked her up as gently as he could, trying to cause her as less pain as possible. "Hold on tight."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and a slight blush crept up both their cheeks. "Ready." She said softly. Takashi nodded and started to run. Meyrin would flinch whenever her leg would bump into him but tried not to show how much pain she was. However, Takashi would notice when her grip tighten around his neck and she would bite onto her lip. She was clearly in a lot of pain but he had no idea what to do about it. After thirty minutes of running they reached a clearing in the forest where there was a small stream and what looked like an abandoned house. Takashi tried to open the door but it was locked so he put Meyrin down gently and kicked the door open. Then he picked her up again and took her inside the house setting her down on the sofa and looked around then back at her.

"What are you going to do about your leg?" He asked.

Meyrin looked at her leg. "I need to move it back into place so it can heal…"

"How are you going to do that?" He asked but immediately regretted it.

"I'll either have to take my leg and move the bone using my own hands or I'll have to use the muscles in my leg to force it back, either way it's gonna be painful." She said with a small smile.

He shuddered "Do you need anything?" He asked.

"A towel to bite on would be nice." She said.

"I'll go find one." He said and left the room, going down the hallway in search for the bathroom. Once there he searched for small towel. He found one in a small basked, he took it and went back to Meyrin who was telling herself that it would only hurt for that moment. "Are you ready?" He asked he handed her the towel.

She took it in her hand. "No, but I guess that doesn't really matter." She said and put the towel in her mouth. She took in a deep breath as she put her hand on her leg and tried to find the best place for her to push it back. In the end she grabbed right under her knee and right above her ankle. She closed her eyes and pushed her leg, the towel muffling her cry of pain. Takashi had to look away, the way her leg was twitching made his stomach flip and a lump in his throat formed at the sound of her cries of pain. However after a few seconds she stopped, not being able to stand the pain. The towel dropped out her mouth and she took in deep breaths.

"A-are you done?" he asked as he turned to face her.

She shook her head. "I… I can't, it hurts." She whimpered a bit when she let go of her leg. "I need you to do it." She said with pleading eyes.

"W-what?" He said.

"I can't do it because I'll stop if it starts to hurt but you, you can't feel my pain so you can push it back." She said.

"But what if I push too far? Or what if I…"

"It's okay, I'll try to use the muscles in my leg to guide you. Plus you'll hear it pop into place."

Takashi looked at her leg then back at her. He couldn't say no, it was obvious that having a dislocated leg was painful but he also wasn't sure if he had the guts to move it back into place. He scratched the back of his neck and sighed.

"Please, Takashi." She begged.

"… Alright." He finally said. "How do I… uhm."

"Put one hand right above my knee and the other right on my ankle."

He nodded his head and was gentle as possible when he took hold of her leg. Meyrin put the towel in her mouth and braced herself for the pain.

"Are you ready?" He asked as he glanced at her.

She nodded her head and tried to relax as much as possible so it would be easy. Takashi took a deep breath and counted to three in his head and pushed her leg. Meyrin bit down on the towel and balled her hands up into fist. Trying to suppress her urge to scream. Luckily, it didn't take long since Takashi was trying to get this over as quick as possible. As soon as he heard and felt the pop he shuddered and let go of her leg. Meyrin let herself fall back and the towel dropped out her mouth as she took in deep breaths.

"Are you okay?" Takashi asked.

Meyrin nodded her head and put her arm over her eyes to hide the few tears of pain that starting to slide down her cheeks. "Y-yeah." She said with a shaky voice.

He looked at her with sadden eyes. He could only imagine how much pain that caused her. _"If only I had arrived a few minutes earlier." _He moved her arm from her face and put his hand to her cheek wiping away the few tears that had escaped her eyes. She felt more tears well up in her eyes and she wrapped her arms around his neck and cried. Why? Who knows? She wasn't very sure herself but she didn't stop herself either. Takashi put a hand on her back and the other on her head, holding her close to him. He whispered words of comfort to her, soothing her. Until eventually, she fell asleep in his arms. He looked down at her with a smile, she looked at peace. He placed a kiss on her forehead and picked her up, being careful with her leg. He went into one of the rooms within the cabin and put her onto the bed gently. He closed the door to the room and locked it. Then he went back over to the bed, yes it was already morning but neither of them had slept much if at all. He pulled the covers over her and pulled a chair beside the bed to watch her. He was happy to know she was alive. He laid his head on the bed and let himself drift to sleep.


	13. Haruto

Takashi yawned as he lifted his head. He looked around tiredly as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

_"What time is it?" _He thought as he glanced at the watch on the nightstand. It was eight thirty-two. They've been asleep the whole day. He sat up in the chair and stretched himself while letting out another yawn. He looked at the bed where Meyrin was still sleeping. He couldn't help but smile at the scene but it was also then that he realized that she had cut her hair. _"Why would she have cut her hair?" _He thought as he lightly ran his fingers through her hair. She stirred a bit in her sleep and he moved his hand back, not wanting to wake her. He let out a silent sigh and looked around, he wasn't sleepy any more so he had to find something to do but there was nothing to do. He leaned back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and listened to the world. In the distance you could hear a few birds and a few crickets here and there. It was peaceful to the point that he was starting to drift back to sleep until he heard the sound of a branch breaking. His eyes snapped open and he listened closely. He heard the sound of a foot making impact on the wooden floor. He stood up as silently as he could. He realized he didn't have his bat and mentally cursed. He looked around taking the lamp that was on the night stand. He opened the door and made his way down the hallway. He pressed his back against the wall and looked over the corner. There was a dark figure walking around the cabin but he couldn't tell if it was a zombie or not. It didn't groan or make any of the sounds a zombie made, but it was walking with a limp. He tighten his grip on the lamp, straining his eyes to see through the darkness. The figure limped around the living room as if it were looking for something at this point Takashi was starting to believe that it was a human but he didn't want to take his chances. He reached into his pocket to pull out a penny that he had found earlier. He threw it across the room and it hit the glass window with a tap. The figure looked at the window then from where the penny came from.

"W-who's there?!" They said. It was a guy.

Takashi loosened his grip on the lap and stepped out into the living room with his hands up as an act of peace. "It's okay, I'm not a zombie."

The guy laughed just a bit. "That's a relief. Wait, is this your house? If it is I'm sorry I didn't know people where still here. The front door was knocked down so…"

"It's fine, I would've done the same thing but I don't live here I'm just staying here for the night." Takashi said as he threw the lamp onto the sofa. "I noticed you were limping."

"Oh yeah, I twisted my ankle while I was running away from some zombies." They rubbed the back of their head and you could hear the smile. "By the way I'm Haruto." He stretched out his hand.

"Takashi." He shook his hand firmly.

Haruto let his hand drop back to his side after the handshake was done. "So are you here by yourself?"

"No, I have someone else with me but she's sleeping at the moment." Takashi said pointing down the hallway.

"Oh? A friend I take it."

"Yeah."

"Do you guys mind if I stay here for the night."

"Go ahead." He said with a shrug. He turned around and headed back to the room he was in. "If there's anything you need just ask."

"Thanks." He said as he followed Takashi. "I appreciate it."

"Don't mention." Takashi said as he went into the room, closing the door silently.

-The next morning-

Takashi woke up to the sound of laughter and the smell of eggs. He lifted his head and looked around as his senses came into function. He realized that the laugh he was hearing was Meyrin's.

_"What is she laughing at?"_ He thought as he stood up and rubbed his eyes. He trudged out the room and headed down the hallway.

"Meyrin what are you laughing at?" He said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, good morning Takashi." She said with a smile.

"Ah, you're finally awake." Haruto said.

"Sorry if I woke you up. We were just joking around." She said as she put a plate with rice and eggs on the table. "Now, come on breakfast is ready." She said as she served two more plates along with putting a jar of juice and three cups onto the table.

Takashi sat across from Haruto and Meyrin sat beside Takashi.

"How's your leg doing?" Takashi asked as he picked up his chopsticks.

"Oh, well, it still hurts but I'll live through it." Meyrin said as she did the same. "That reminds me, how about your ankle?" She said turning to Haruto.

"It's feeling a lot better thanks to you." He said with a smile. "You don't know how much I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it." She said waving it off. "Anyway let's eat."

"Itadakimasu." They said in unison. They all began to eat as if they hadn't eaten in days.

"This is delicious!" Haruto said with his mouthful of rice.

"Isn't it! She makes the best food." Takashi said as he pointed at Meyrin with his chopsticks.

"Well, I wouldn't say that." Meyrin said as she poured herself some juice.

"I would." Haruto and Takashi said at the same time.

"Well, I've meet plenty of people whose cooking skills are superior to mine." She said and took a sip of her drink.

"Of course there are." Haruto said in a sarcastic tone.

Meyrin rolled her eyes playfully. "Whatever."

"Oh, you still want me to fix your hair right?" Haruto asked.

"Oh yeah, that would be great." Meyrin said as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Why did you cut it in the first place?" Takashi asked.

"Oh well uhm, it was getting on my nerves." She said. Takashi raised an eyebrow at her. "What? It's a good reason." She said.

"Of course it is." Takashi said.

"But it is!"

"I never said it wasn't."

"But you were thinking it weren't you!"

"Nope."

Haruto let out a laugh and the two turned to him wondering what he was laughing about.

"What?" They both said in unison.

"Oh nothing." Haruto said waving his hand.

Meyrin and Takashi exchanged glances.

"By the way who exactly are you to each other?" Haruto asked as he leaned closer to them and wiggled his eyebrows.

A slight blush appeared on Meyrin's cheek at the sudden question. "Well…"

"We're a couple." Takashi said as he pulled her closer to him. Meyrin's blush turned a brighter pink and she knew it did.

"Oh? Why didn't you tell me this last night?" Haruto whined.

"You didn't ask." Takashi said shrugging.

Haruto sighed "Well there go my chances."

"What?" Takashi challenged pulling Meyrin closer and threw a glare at him.

"I'm joking! I'm joking!" He said as he put his hands up in surrender.

"Ah, right well, I would love to finish eating." Meyrin said poking Takashi.

"Oh right." Takashi said as he let go of her.

"Thank you." She said and began to eat her rice.

"So where are you guys headed?" Haruto asked with a mouthful of rice.

"Back to the city." Meyrin said.

"What about your leg?" Takashi asked a bit worried.

"I'll be fine." She said.

"Why to the city?" Haruto asked.

"There's some business I **need** to take care."

"You know there are a lot of zombies down there now." Haruto said leaning back in his chair.

"I know." She said calmly.

"And it's only you two?"

"Yeah, but we'll be fine." Takashi said.

"Hm." Haruto said with a nod.

"What about you?" Meyrin asked as she pointed her chopstick at him.

"Me? Well…" He took a pause to think about it. "I don't know. I'm just kind of wandering around hoping I don't killed or anything like that."

"What about your parents?" Takashi asked.

"Oh them? They were long dead before this even happened." Haruto said shrugging.

"How old are you?" Meyrin asked raising an eyebrow.

"Nineteen."

Meyring choked on her juice. "Nineteen?!"

"Yeah."

"I thought you were seventeen!"

"Oh no, no." Haruto said shaking his head. "How old are you guys?"

"Seventeen." Takashi said.

"Wow, you guys are young." Haruto said with a whistle.

"We're only two years younger than you!" Meyrin said.

"So, you're still young."

"We're not that young." Takashi said.

"Young is young."

"Well then you're old." Meyrin said.

"Okay, I can live with that."

"Whatever." Meyrin said as she crossed her arms.

"Heh." Haruto said with a smirk. "So when are you guys gonna leave?"

Takashi looked at Meyrin and she put a finger up to her chin. "Hm, now." She said and stood up.

"Wait, now?" Takashi said as he stood up. "Don't you think we should wait until your leg feels better?"

"My leg will be fine." Meyrin said as she picked up her empty plate and placed it in the sink. "Oi, before we leave can you fix my hair." She said as she turned to Haruto.

"Yeah, you have a comb and scissors?" Haruto said as he stood up.

"I think there might be some around here somewhere and as for a comb there might be one in the bathroom. I'll go check." She said and pointed down the hall.

"Okay, I'll look for some scissors." He said.

Meyrin nodded her head and went to the bathroom in search for a comb. _"There's gotta be one around here somewhere."_ She thought as she looked through a basket of hair accessories. There wasn't one in the basket but she kept looking around. She found one in the cabinet. although she noticed that there wasn't a bath tub or shower in the bathroom. _"Where did these people take their showers?" _She thought as she walked out.

"I found a comb." She said as she entered the kitchen.

"We found scissors." Haruto said as he held up the metal scissors. Takashi was holding a bed sheet.

"What's the bed sheet for?" She asked as she handed Haruto the comb.

"Have you never gotten your hair cut before?" Haruto asked as she sat down in the chair.

"Once, a little bit after I went overseas." She said as he put the cover over her. "But I don't remember much and they didn't really teach us about cutting hair."

"You went overseas?" Haruto asked as he began to comb through her hair.

"Yeah to study, I got back a day or two before this all started." She said.

"What wonderful timing." Haruto said sarcastically.

"Yeah that's what I said."

There was a bit of silence while Haruto started to part her hair into sections.

"So who taught you to cut hair?" Takashi asked as he leaned against the wall.

"My parents owned a hair salon back where we lived and I picked up a few things." Haruto said.

Takashi nodded his head.

"By the way how did you two meet?" Haruto asked as he began to clip Meyrin's hair.

"We lived near each other when we were younger." Takashi said.

"Oh, so you've known each other for a while."

"Not exactly, I went overseas around the age of five. I meet Takashi when I was three." Meyrin said.

"Oh, so then when did you guys become a couple?"

"How many questions are you going to ask?" Takashi asked.

"I'm just curious, no need to get mad bro." Haruto said as he glanced over his shoulder to look at Takashi. "Turn your head to the right a bit." He said to Meyrin.

"Like this?" She said turning her head just a bit.

"That's perfect." He said as he continued to cut her hair. There was complete silence afterwards; no one spoke a word until Haruto finally put down the scissors. "Alright done." He said taking a step back as if to admire his work. "Takashi do me a favor and get me a mirror for her."

Takashi walked out to get the mirror. Meyrin stood up from the chair, taking of the sheet and dusting herself off.

"Thank you." She said.

"No problem, it's the least I could do." He said. "Also one last thing."

"Hm?"

"I may not be a mathematician but I'm pretty sure a week is not enough for two people to become a couple even if they did know each other when they were little. What rushed you into the relationship?" He said in a low voice.

"I wasn't rushed." She said as she began to fold the sheet.

"Then what exactly happened in that one week?"

Meyrin turned to look at him. "Why do you want to know?" She narrowed her gaze.

"No reason just curiosity." He said shrugging.

"Curiosity killed that cat."

"Ah, yes, but I'm not a cat now am I."

"I found a mirror." Takashi said as he came into the kitchen with a small round mirror. He handed it to Meyrin and she looked at her hair. It was a Bob Cut with her hair slightly parted to the left, it fit her nicely.

"It's nice." She said and put the mirror down. "Thank you once again. Well, I think it's time for us to go."

"Already?" Haruto said.

"Yes, I don't have a lot of time to waste." She said and walked over to Takashi. "Let's go."

"Ah, you guys don't mind if I tag along do you?" Haruto asked.

"Actually, yes, we do." Meyrin said. "What we're going to do involves us and us only, I'd rather not get you involved."

"I only want to go to the city, after that it's not like I'll follow you around."

Meyrin and Takashi exchanged glances, they were both starting to dislike this guy but they didn't just want to leave him alone to fend for himself.

Meyrin sighed. "Fine."

"Alright!" Haruto said with a smirk.

"Come on, I don't want this to last longer than it needs too." She said as she began to walk towards the front door that was covered in wooden planks that Haruto set up. "Right I forgot that was there. I would kick it down but given that my leg isn't in a good condition that won't work."

"I'll just use my bat." Takashi said as he went to the sofa where he left his bat the day before. Meyrin and Haruto stepped away from the door as Takashi got ready.

"Now, once the door is down we have to run just in case we attract any zombies and Takashi is the only one that has a weapon so we're counting on you." Meyrin said.

Takashi nodded his head. "Got it." He hit the wooden planks as hard as he could and broke through although it wasn't a big gap so he went at it four more times before they ran out the house. They ran into the forest heading back towards where Meyrin and Takashi had come from. They passed the part of the woods that had caught fire and Meyrin stopped.

"Why are we stopping?" Takashi asked.

"Yesterday I lost a gun and a few MAGs. If we can find those then we would be just a bit closer to the safe side." She said as she began to look around the ground avoiding the charred bodies that reeked of the dead. They looked around searching for the guns, leaving no stone, body, or branch unturned. However after several minutes of searching they found nothing.

"Someone might have stolen them." Takashi said.

"Or it burned in the fire." Haruto said.

"Hm, well so much for that idea." Meyrin said with a sigh. "Let's get going." She took off at a jogging pace and the other two followed her, one on each side.

"Hopefully once we get onto the road we'll find a car." Takashi said.

"Oh, come on you're not tired yet, are you?" Haruto said.

"No, but it would be faster."

"He has a point." Meyrin said. "A car would get us to the destination faster."

"How would we turn it on?" Haruto asked.

"Easy, we would short circuit it." Meyrin said.

"You guys are some bad children." Haruto said.

"We're not children." Takashi said.

"Course you're not, just like you're not bad."

Meyrin sighed. "Are we really gonna start this again?"

"Start what? I'm just stating the facts." Haruto said.

"Sure you are." Takashi said.

"Are you trying to say that I'm lying?" Haruto asked.

"I never said that."

Haruto pointed his index and middle finger at his own eyes then at Takashi. "I'm watching you."

"Right…"

They reached the road faster than they had expected, possibly because they were too busy arguing to notice how fast they had started to run much less noticed that they had arrived. They almost crossed the road into the other forest if it wasn't for Meyrin tripping.

"Are you okay?" Takashi asked as he helped her up.

"Yeah, my leg just decided to have a spaz attack." Meyrin said as she started to stretch her leg out a bit, trying to loosen her muscles up a bit.

"Did you guys realize we were on the road?" Haruto asked as he looked around.

"We do now." Meyrin said as she looked up into the sky. The sun was just about to be over their heads, so it was close to noon. If they walked or ran it would take hours to get there. They probably wouldn't get there till nightfall. "Alright, boys, let's find a car." They began to run down the street again.

"Wait, how do we know we're going the right way." Takashi asked.

Meyrin stopped and looked up at the sun and looked at the way the clouds were traveling. "And we were going the wrong way." She spun on her heels and began to run the opposite way.

"How do you know?" Haruto asked.

"By the way the clouds and the sun are moving." She said pointing upwards.

"Ah."

They ran for thirty minutes without spotting a car, they slowed down their pace to a steady speed walk.

"What if someone already stole all the cars?" Haruto asked.

"Then we'll just have to walk there." Meyrin said.

"That's a lot of work."

"Well, you're the one who wanted to tag along." Takashi said.

"Yeah, but I didn't think it would be this much work." Haruto whined.

"Oh, get over yourself." Meyrin said with a frustrated sigh.

"Hey, do you hear that." Takashi said as he stopped walking.

"Hear what?" Meyrin and Haruto said as they stopped walking.

"Listen." Takashi said.

They listened closely.

"I don't hear…"

"Shh!" Meyrin said as she put her hand over his mouth and looked around listening closely. Haruto moved her hand away and listened again. It was very faint but you could hear the roar of a car engine.

"What direction is it coming from?" Takashi asked.

"I think it's coming from behind us." Meyrin said as she turned around.

"Do you think they'll give us a ride?" Haruto asked as they all watched to see if the car would drive up.

Over the horizon a small little dot appeared, it was the car.

"Wait a second…" Meyrin said as she squinted, straining her eyes to see the car. "That's the car from yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Takashi asked.

"Yeah, yesterday while I was walking some guys in a car stopped by asking if I needed a ride." She said. "I think they wanted to give me more than a ride in the car though, egh."

Takashi glared at the car. "I'll kill them." He growled.

"Just keep walking and hopefully they won't notice." Meyrin said as she walked in between the guys.

_"Please don't stop, please don't stop, please don't stop, please don't stop." _She thought as they walked and the car got closer. Although she already knew it was going stop, you could hear the car slow down.

"Hey isn't that the pyhsco from yesterday?" One of them said as they pulled up beside them.

Takashi was about to turn around and say something but Meyrin squeezed his hand. "Just ignore them." She said.

"Oh yeah! So you found yourself some guys. What, we weren't good enough for you?!" The other said.

_"I really hope those idiots die." _She thought.

"Eh, who needs her! I know plenty of chicks that are waiting for me."

"Of course there are." Meyrin said under her breath. Haruto snickered.

"What did you say?!"

"Oh nothing." Meyrin said flashing and innocent smile. At that moment an idea popped into her head and she smirked. "Hey." She whispered.

"What?" Takashi whispered back.

"Let's steal their car." She said.

"What?" Takashi said.

"Sure." Haruto agreed.

Meyrin looked over at the two men in the car who were obviously trying to make fun of them. She took a step towards them and they stopped. "So tell me, where you guys headed." She asked innocently.

"Uh… well… nowhere in particular." They guy in the driver's seat said nervously.

"Really? Then you guys wouldn't mind if we borrowed your car right?" She said.

"W-what?"

She opened the door pulling out the guy in the driver's seat. Takashi and Haruto went to the other side dragging the other one out.

"Thank you. We really appreciate your kindness." Meyrin said as they got into the car. "See ya." She said and drove off.

"Nice one." Haruto said as he leaned in the back seat.

Meyrin smiled triumphantly as she adjusted the mirrors. "Thank you."

"So how long is it going to take to get there now?" Takashi asked.

"Two hours at the most one and a half at the least." She said.

"Thank goodness." Haruto said. "Also, if you need me to drive I'll do it."

"I'll be fine." She said as she glanced at him through the mirror. Meyrin turned on the radio, being that she couldn't stand being in a car without music playing. She found a station set on classical music, it bored some people but she adored it.

"Ah, Mozart." Haruto said as Mozart's Symphony No. 25 in G minor played.

"You're a fan?" Meyrin inquired.

"I wouldn't say that but I studied my due amount of music in high school."

Takashi sat there confused as to what they were talking about, he himself didn't particularly like classical music, it put him to sleep. He leaned on the door, resting his head in the palm of his hand. He sat there listening to them talk about classical music, it soon became hard to stay up and he fell asleep.

"Takashi." Meyrin said shaking him softly.

"Hm?" He said sleepily.

"We're here." She said.

He sat up and looked around; they were at the entrance of the city. "Why don't we drive in?"

"It would be harder that way." Haruto said.

"I thought you said you were going to leave once we got here." Takashi said.

"I will."

"Anyway, we're on the opposite side of town to my house, so let's start moving, I would rather get there before it becomes dark." Meyrin said as she stepped out the car.


	14. Explosion

Ahem, This is a little warning for all my innocent children out there (Which I doubt exist since this is a H.O.T.D thing… but still for safe measure and blah,blah, blah) This chapter has some(well maybe a lot…) lemon and things of the suchness. You have been warned~

* * *

Meyrin looked around on guard for any zombies that might jump out. "Let's go." She said as she began to speed walk down the street. Takashi got out the car following behind her and noticed that Haruto was following them.

"Why are you following us?" Takashi asked.

"I'm not following you." Haruto said. "I was going to come down this way to get to a friend's house."

"Hey, you guys, guess what." Meyrin said without bothering to look back at them.

"What?" They both said.

"Shut up." She growled.

The two boys exchanged glances. "Sorry." They mumbled as they looked down at the ground.

"We need to find something to fight with in case we find zombies." Meyrin whispered.

"Yeah." Haruto said as he looked around.

"I have a baseball bat but that won't do much will it?" Takashi said.

"Not if we get into a giant swarm of them." Meyrin said.

"Where are we going to get something to fight them off with?" Haruto asked.

"For the meanwhile we can just snap some branches off a tree." Meyrin said pointing at the trees to her right as she stopped walking.

"Do you think they'll be enough?" Takashi asked.

"Probably not but it's better than nothing." She said as she went over to the trees. She grabbed onto the branch above her and climbed up the tree in search for a few good branches that wouldn't break upon impact.

"Is it really a good idea for her to be up there on her own? Don't you think she'll fall?" Haruto said as they looked up as Meyrin climbed the tree.

"Don't worry." Takashi said as he continued to look up with a small smile. "She knows what she's doing."

A few seconds later two branches came falling down and Meyrin climbed down. "I found two branches that might hold up until we can find something better." She said as she picked up the bigger one of the two. "Shall we continue on?"

Haruto picked up his branch then looked at hers. "Why do you get the bigger one?" He whined.

"Hm?" She said and looked at her branch then at his. "Oh, I didn't even realize. Do you want the bigger one?"

"Well uh…. No I was just kidding…" He said not expecting her answer in such a manner.

"Oh, well I wasn't gonna give it to you anyway." She said while shrugging.

Takashi laughed a bit.

"Well, come on, we don't have time to waste." She said as she began to walk along the side walk. "The sun is going to set shortly and I don't want to try to fight off zombies in the dark."

"Where are we going to stay when it becomes dark?" Haruto asked.

"We?" Takashi said.

"Well, yeah, I mean you guys won't just abandon me right?"

Meyrin sighed. "Let's not worry about that now, we'll figure that out when we get there."

"Good enough." Haruto said with a slight shrug.

The three of them walked through the streets on guard, keeping a look out for any zombies that might jump out at them. However because of this precaution they were walking at a very slow pace. They weren't going to reach the bridge at the pace they were moving but it was too risky to move any faster. If they were to run the sound of their footsteps would be heard and they'd attract zombies. So for the time being they walked at a slow pace. T

hey didn't make it very far before the moon came out. They found an abandoned warehouse and decided to stay the night there but Haruto said he would leave for his friend's house.

"You sure you'll be fine?" Meyrin asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Haruto said as he looked off behind him towards the door. At the current moment Takashi was outside standing guard, they were taking shifts. He looked back at Meyrin. "My friend's house is literally down the street." He studied her thoroughly, from head to toe. He liked what he saw.

"Well if anything happens, we'll be here for the night." Meyrin said as she leaned against the wall.

Haruto nodded his head. "What time are you guys leaving?" He didn't take his eyes off her, he wanted what he saw.

"Hm, early, maybe a bit after sunrise." She noticed the way he was looking at her and felt a bit uncomfortable, so she crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to comfort herself.

"Ah, I'll still be asleep by then."

Meyrin opened her mouth to speak but before she could Haruto had her pinned against the wall with her arms above her head.

"Wh…"

Her sentence was cut off by Haruto's lips crashing into her own. Her eyes widen but for the first couple of seconds, she didn't know what was happening or how to react to it. But when she felt his tongue at the entrance of her mouth she snapped out of her surprised state and started to struggle. She refused to kiss back and tried as hard as she could but he was stronger than her. This didn't make Haruto very happy at all and he separated from her and she spat on him.

"What the hell was that?!" She demanded.

He used one hand to keep her arms above her head and his free hand to wipe off the spit on his face.

"Now, that wasn't very kind." He said in a low voice.

"Oh, yeah, and pinning me against a wall and kissing me is." She growled.

He used his free hand to comb through her hair. "You know you enjoyed it." He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back a bit, exposing her neck. He playful brushed his lips against her skin.

"Let go of me or I'll scream." She growled.

"Scream? Wouldn't that attract zombies." He challenged.

"Like I care."

"hm, wouldn't that cause for your little boyfriend."

"He can always come inside."

"Can he?" He said with a smirk.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"After me and Takashi switched places I locked the door so he wouldn't interrupt us."

"You bastard."

"It's your choice." He said and brushed his lips against her neck once again.

She had to think of something and quick. She surely wasn't going to put Takashi in danger for her own sake but she wasn't going to let Haruto get away with whatever he wants to.

"So what's your answer?" He said as his hand slipped to the first button of her jumpsuit. His action disgusted her and she once again tried to struggle against his grip. This made him smirk and he pulled on her hair again making her release a small cry of pain. He took this chance and snuck his tongue into her mouth. She bit his tongue as hard as she could. Haruto moved back in growled as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Why you little…!"

His sentence was cut off when Meyrin kicked him; he stumbled and crashed into a pile of tool boxes. He grunted and glared at her. However she was far from done. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and with her free hand punched him right in the nose. He let out a scream of pain and brought his hand up to his now broken nose.

"You bitch!" He yelled.

Meyrin looked at him with an emotionless gaze. "Get out."

He looked at her with a glare as he held his nose and stood up. "You'll pay for this." He growled as he walked past her. He unlocked the door and stormed out the shed.

"Serves him right." She said under her breath. A few seconds later Takashi poked his head into the shed.

"What's up with Haruto?" Takashi asked.

"He didn't get what he wanted so he ran off." Meyrin said shrugging.

Takashi raised an eyebrow as he came in and locked the door behind him. "What exactly did he want?"

"Take a wild guess." Meyrin said as she sat down in the pile of hay.

"You don't that he tried to…"

"Bingo."

"That bastard." Takashi growled as his hands balled up into fists. "I'll make him pay."

"Don't worry I already broke his nose, he won't be back for awhile." She said with a satisfying smirk.

"What did he do? Did he hurt you?" Takashi asked as he kneeled in front of her so that they were at eye level.

"No, the most he got away with was a few stolen kisses." Meyrin said and felt her stomach turn at the thought. "Disgusting bastard." She said and wiped her mouth still feeling very, very disgusted.

"I'm sorry."

"Why?" She asked as she looked off to the side. "I should've known he wasn't to be trusted."

Takashi sighed and looked at her, taking in all her beauty. He yearned to touch her, to feel her skin against his, to see all of her. He couldn't help himself anymore. He jumped on top of her, causing them to fall to the ground, which wasn't very far away, and he pulled her into a passionate kiss. Meyrin's body stiffened for a fraction of a second before she started to kiss back, wrapping her arms around his neck and threading her fingers through his hair. It had only been a day or so since she had last felt his lips but she had missed them. She was happy to be able to feel them again. After countless minutes they pulled away, breathless.

"Takashi." She said softly.

"Meyrin… I can't take any more." He said in between pants. "I want you, I need you, Meyrin I love you."

Meyrin's cheek flushed a dark shade of pink and her heart started to race. Before she even had time to respond Takashi's lips were back on hers. His tongue ran across her bottom lip, asking for an entrance. Without hesitating she let him in and he explored every part of her mouth, earning a soft moan from Meyrin. It aroused him more than he expected and he pressed himself against her. She wrapped her legs around his waist deepening the kiss. After a few more minutes their lips separated and Takashi began a trail of kisses leading down to her neck in search for her soft spot. He heard a small whimper from her and he knew he had found it. He sucked on it and she let out a soft moan, he nibbled on it and she moaned a little louder, he bit it and she moaned even louder. He smirked in satisfaction and moved his lips back to hers and began a battle for dominance which Meyrin lost. His hands moved to the buttons on her jumpsuit and he began to undo them one at a time, taking his time to do it slowly. Meyrin's hands traveled to his shirt as she began to feel around his stomach. He was most definitely toned and she loved the feel of it against her hands. She ran a finger up to his chest then back down. Takashi let out a low grunt and she continued on. After taking his time Takashi had unbuttoned the last button of Meyrin's jumpsuit and he moved away to get a good look at her. This made Meyrin's blush deepen and she instinctively brought her arms to cover her chest however Takashi stopped her.

"I want to see you." He said in a low voice as he moved her arms away from her chest. After getting a good look he brought her back into a kiss and his hands went around her back to unclip the bra she had on. Meyrin moaned when she felt his hands began to massage her breast. Takashi's lips trailed down to her breast and he kissed them softly earning another moan from Meyrin. She bit her lip trying to resist the urge to moan. However, this upset Takashi, he began to suck on her nipple, teasing her. She gasped but she kept resisting the urge to moan. Takashi let out a low growl and bit down on it roughly and used his free hand to massage her other one. She whimpered but as he continued, it turned into a moan. Takashi moved his lips back to hers and kissed her for a quick second before he pulled of his shirt. He pressed their bodies together and brought her back into a passionate kiss. While their tongues for dominance Meyrin's hands slip down to the button of his pants. Takashi groaned into the kiss and Meyrin smirked as she undid the button and slowly brought down the zipper, teasing him and she brushed her finger against his harden member. He groaned again and pulled away from the kiss and pulled his pants off. Meyrin's cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink.

"Embarrassed?" He whispered in her ear.

"N-no." She stuttered.

He smirked and nibbled at her ear. His hands slip down to her panties and he pulled them down. Meyrin wanted to close her legs but Takashi had predicted that she would try to do so. He placed his knee in between hers to prevent her from closing her legs. She whimpered with in the kiss when she felt his fingers tease at her entrance. She moved around trying to get out the position she was in but the more she moved the more he teased her. She whimpered into the kiss and bit his lip as he slid two fingers into her. She wriggled trying to get him to stop. It didn't help, the more she moved the more his fingers went in. She moaned when Takashi added a third finger and his free hand began to massage her breast again. Her mind was gone and she had no control over her body as it started to move on its own. She pressed herself into him feeling something hard rub against her. Takashi groaned as he began to rub harder against her. He couldn't take it anymore, he pulled away, ripping off his boxers and spread her legs open.

"T-taka…Ah!"

Before she could even finish saying his name he had plunged into her rather roughly. There was pain but not enough to outdo the pleasure of it. Meyrin's back arched making it possible for Takashi to push in even farther. He wasted no time and went in deeper. Meyrin moaned again as she clawed at the ground. He went in and out at a fast pace, and keeping it like that, if anything he sped up with each passing moment. Meyrin threw her arms around his neck and brought him into another kiss. Takashi's hands wandered to her waist and he began to move her waist, speeding up the pace even more that what it already was. Meyrin threw her head back, her eyes half way closed, letting out another moan. With every moan Meyrin made Takashi wanted more and more. He stopped for a fraction of a second only to flip her, her face almost making contact with the ground. He grabbed her hips to keep her steady and he plunged into her harder than the first time. She screamed, neither them knowing if it was out of pain or pleasure.

"T-takashi… Nnngghh… Takashi… f-faster…" She begged.

Takashi didn't need to be told twice, he picked up the pace mumbling her name and other gibberish under his breath.

"Ta-takashi, I'm, I'm going to… mmnnn…"

"W-wait, just wait a little more…"

"I-I can't…"

With that he went in deeper and harder than ever before, pushing himself to make it at the same time as her.

"Takashi!"

"Meyrin!"

Takashi came a split second after Meyrin and he collapsed beside her. He kissed her neck and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I love you." He whispered into her ear.

"I love you too." Meyrin said sleepily as she buried herself into him.

"Good night." He said before they both drifted into a deep sleep.

Meyrin woke up to the sound of birds chirping and a few rays of sunlight hitting her eyes. She opened her eyes letting them adjust as she took in her surroundings. She looked to see Takashi still sleeping for a second she didn't know where she was but when it came back to her she blushed furiously. When she tried to get up Takashi only tighten his grip on her pulling her closer. She put her hands on his chest to keep him from smothering her to death.

"Uhm, Takashi." She said clearing her throat.

"Hm?" He said without opening his eyes.

"It's morning…"

"Mmhm."

"Can you let me go?"

"Hmm." He said and buried his face into her neck. "I think I'll stay like this for a bit longer." He kissed her neck. Her breath caught in her lungs and she blushed even more. He smiled into her neck but move away so he could plant a short kiss on her lips. She looked away still blushing. He smiled and tilted her chin up so he was looking at her in the eyes.

"You're cute when you blush." He said with a tender smile.

She wanted to look away but his eyes captivated her. She leaned up and kissed him sweetly. He threaded one hand through her hair and kept his other arm around her waist pulling her closer. Meyrin moved so that she was on top of him now. She broke the kiss and smiled. He propped himself on his elbows and bit her bottom lip. This was the beginning of round two in resulted in them falling asleep again. This time Takashi was the first to wake up when he heard a thud against the door. He sat up, Meyrin still clinging to him and groaning when he moved.

"Something's at the door." He said as he rubbed his eyes.

Meyrin sat up and looked around, listening closely and the thud at the door was heard again. They looked at each other and they quickly got back into their clothes.

"What could it be?" Meyrin whispered as she buttoned the last button.

"I don't know." Takashi said as he pulled the shirt on and grabbed his bat.

Meyrin got to her legs but she felt a pain in her lower back and she stumbled back to the ground. "Shit."

"What's wrong?" Takashi said worriedly as he helped her up.

"Nothing." She lied as she tried to walk on her own but it ended with her falling back to the ground.

Takashi kneeled beside her. "Tell me what's wrong."

A small smirk appeared on her face when she looked over at him. "You need to learn how to be a bit more gentle."

A blush appeared on his face "I-I … Uh… I didn't mean… Uh"

Meyrin smiled "It's okay but for now let's focus on whatever is at the door." She narrowed her eyes at the door where another thud was heard a spilt second later it was heard again. Then there seemed like there were thousands of thuds against the door and the groaning from the zombies could be heard. They looked at each other then back at the door where the thuds were coming from.

"What do we do?" Takashi whispered.

"We can try to wait them out or escape."

"Let's wait them out, I doubt you can run."

"Yea, yea, I know." She said and leaned on him still feeling a bit tired.

"Tired?"

"Mmhhm." She said as her eyes began to close a bit. "You were too rough."

A deeper blush appeared on his face. "I-I…!"

Meyrin giggled. "I was kidding." She said and kissed his cheek. The thuds continued on lulling Meyrin to sleep. Just as she was on the verge of dreaming when suddenly an explosion broke out right outside the shed. She sat up but regretted it when she felt a wave of pain in her back.

"What was that?!" Takashi asked as the smoke cleared. The door was now on the floor and the zombies were flooding in.

"Shit." She said as she tried to stand up, Takashi helped her up. "We have to get her out of here."

"I know." He said and swung her over his shoulder. "Sorry but I need to use both arms to fend off the zombies."

"Just don't drop me."

He nodded and looked for an opening among the zombies, just the smallest one would be enough but it seemed like the more he waited the more flooded in.

"You know, if you just stand here it will get worse."

"I noticed; guess it's now or never." He said and charged towards the zombies. Meyrin grabbed onto the back of his shirt and tried to keep her balance as he ran through the zombies. Although all that moving didn't really help with the pain but it was probably better than running on her own two feet. They managed to break through the wave of zombies around the shed.

"We made it." Takashi said in between pants and was about to put her down.

"Think again." She said as she looked at the next wave of zombies heading their way.

Takashi's eyes widen, this crowd was at least ten times bigger than the last one. They were being surrounded.

"What do we do?" Takashi said as he turned every few seconds.

"We need to get somewhere high." She said as her eyes raked the area for a place they could take shelter but there was nothing.

"That sounds like a good idea but there's nothing here."

"I noticed."

"We're getting out of here." Takashi said and took off towards his left since it was the side that had the least amount of zombies.

What they didn't know was that they were being watched and targeted. That explosion was no accident.


	15. What's going on?

"You think this is far enough?" Takashi asked as he looked around.

"I'm pretty sure it is." Meyrin said. "But since we're already this far into the town, let's keep going. We still have plenty of day time."

Takashi nodded his head and picked her up.

"You remember how to get to my house don't you?" She asked.

"Sure do." He said with a smirk playing at his lips. "Hold on tight."

She tighten her grip on his shirt and he took off running. Of course it wasn't comfortable but it did save her the agony of having to run on her own. She wondered when she would be able to run on her own again. As much as she loved being carried, she liked running too. She inwardly sighed and decided to look at the buildings they passed by. It was a ghost town, or well a zombie town you could say.

Behind one of the buildings Meyrin was watching a phone rang. A figure sighed and answered it.

"The targets are within sight." They said in a bored tone.

"How long until they enter the area?" The voice on the other side of the line asked.

They looked at their wrist watch. "10.6 seconds."

"Remember don't kill them."

"Yeah, just make sure they don't come through, I know." They took the safety off the gun and looked around the corner. The two teenagers ran by. "Well see ya later boss." The closed the phone and held out in the sunlight.

Somewhere on the roof of a building another agent saw the flashing light and smirked. "Looks like it's time." They rolled over to the sniper rifle on the edge of the roof. "Alright, let's make some fireworks."

Meyrin blinked and looked off to the side.

"Weird I thought I saw something."

"What are you looking at?" Takashi asked.

"Nothing, I just thought I saw something." She mumbled and turned her attention towards the direction they were heading. She looked up at the bridge that they were about to cross under. "Wait, something's not right."

"Huh?" Takashi said and slowed down a bit. "What do you mean?"

"Put me down for a second." She said.

"Okay…" He said and let her down.

She scanned the area but cautious not move to far from where she was originally standing.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Takashi asked as he followed her around.

"Something is …" She took in a sniff of the air. "Wait." She got a bit closer to the bridge and took another sniff. "Is that…" She took another step closer and sniffed again. "Gun powder…?" She gasped. "GET DOWN!" She yelled.

Just as they hit the floor the bridge exploded.

"Nice aim." Someone spoke into a walkie talkie

"Ha, I never miss." They responded

"Let's get out of here before they let the zombies back in. You know it'll only take a few seconds."

"Already ahead of you."

"What's up with all these explosions?" Takashi said as they sat up.

Meyrin coughed a bit and looked around. "Are you okay?" She said.

"Yeah." He said and groaned a bit as he stood up. "What about you?" He pulled her up to her feet.

"I'm fine but I'm really starting to think that we're being targeted." She said quietly.

"But who would target us? And why? We're not that important, well I'm not…"

She sighed and looked around. "Look, let's just try to get away from here. The sound of the explosion will attract zombies."

He nodded his head and looked behind him. "I think it's too late for that…"

"What?" She said and looked in the direction he was looking. Her eyes widen. "No way…"

There was already a mob of zombies coming towards them. There was at least thirty of them.

"There's no way… they couldn't have just appeared out of nowhere… right?" Meyrin thought as she searched for an explanation. They definitely weren't around a few seconds ago.

"Shit, come one." Takashi said and pulled her out of her thoughts. "We gotta get of here." He grabbed her arm and dragged her away, running up the rubble that was once the bridge.

"Ah, hold on, I'm going to fall!" She said. Just as if on cue, she tripped over her own feet and almost pulled Takashi down with her. "Told you!"

Takashi growled under his breath "We don't have time for this!" He pulled her up and slung her over his shoulder. He ran up the pile of rubble as fast as he could, trying not to fall when a piece of concrete would slip under his foot.

"They're climbing up the rubble!" Meyrin said.

"What?!" He said as they reached the top.

"Oh no."

There were mobs of zombies coming up on every side.

"What do we do?" He asked as he searched around for a way out.

"First of all put me down." She said in a hurried voice.

He put her down and she quickly analyzed the situation.

"Oh god, there are so many, how did they all get here? And within seconds of that explosion." She looked around puzzled.

"Meyrin, what do we do?!" He asked.

She looked around frantically trying to find an opening among the swarm of zombies. She noticed that a couple of the zombies were running into poles. It hit her, they can't see them, they're just listening. She picked up a piece of concrete and almost dropped it, it was still hot from the explosion.

"What are you doing?"

"Hush!" She whispered and threw the rock down towards the zombies. Some of them started to head towards where the sound came from. "Okay, here's the plan." She whispered and picked up another piece of concrete. "Throw these as far as you can."

"Uh, okay." He said and picked up a few pieces and started throwing them. Although every once in a while they would purposely aim for any zombies that got a too close and as for the ones that climbed the rubble, well their heads speared through with the bigger chunks of concrete. "What's the point of this?"

"To keep them away from us."

"We can't do this all day. We're going to run out eventually, what are we going to do then?"

"Well maybe we can make some sort of clearing before then."

"If we wait any longer I have a feeling it's only going to get worse."

Unfortunately he was right, the longer they waited the more zombies would come along with all the sound they were making.

"I don't think we had much of a chance in the first place." She mumbled.

There was a silence that fell upon them as they continued to fend off the zombies.

"We're not going to die." Takashi finally said breaking the silence.

"I already knew that." Meyrin said with a smirk.

He glanced over at her. "Did you find a way to escape?"

"Kind of sort of but it's a fifty-fifty chance type of thing. We either die or don't."

"Good enough, so what's the plan."

You see the part of the bridge that didn't collapse up there." She said nodding upwards. It was a good couple of feet away maybe around ten feet or so.

"What about it?"

"If one of us can get up there then we can pull up the other."

"What if there are zombies up there?"

"If there were they would have fallen off a long time ago."

He thought about it for a while. "I'll get you up there."

"No, you have to get up there first. I don't have the upper body strength to pull you up."

"But-"

"No buts, I'll be able to hold off the zombies."

"How am I supposed to get up there?"

"You jump."

"From down here?"

"Unless you can fly, that's the only option you got."

He looked up and tried to plan out how he was going to do it. Ten feet was a lot to cover in one jump.

"If you don't think you can make it then don't. I don't want you to get hurt." Meyrin said kindly. "I'll find another way for us to get out."

He wanted to tell her that he couldn't do it but his pride was stepping in. He didn't want her to think that he was weak but he also knew that he wouldn't be able to make the jump. He reluctantly sighed "You know I can't make that jump." He said.

"Yeah, I kind of saw that coming." She said with a small smile.

"Any other plans?"

"We could always try to run through the crowd and hope they don't bite us, I don't think that's smart though."

"Well standing here isn't smart either."

"I don't think we have much of a ch-"

Her sentence was cut off the by the vehicle that passed right over their heads and landed among the crowd of zombies. Taking out just enough so that there was a clearing and disappearing just as quick as it appeared.

"That's…" Meyrin mumbled.

"The RV." Takashi finished.

"Ah! It's a clearing! Let's go!" Meyrin said as she began to run down the pile of rubble, slipping here and there but never falling. They made it to the bottom before as the mob tried to recreate itself. They ran down the street as fast as they could never looking back or slowing down until they were at least a good mile away. They plopped down on the park bench and caught their breath.

"I really thought we were gonna die that time." Meyrin admitted.

"Yeah, me too." Takashi agreed.

"Gah, we need water."

Takashi nodded his head. "Let's catch our breath first."

"Good idea."

Five minutes passed and they finally began to breathe properly.

"It was her, wasn't it?" Takashi asked.

She didn't respond and looked down at the ground, deep in thought.

"What could she have been doing? Was she just roaming the city? Was it a coincidence? No, for her to appear at that time, this had to be planned, along with the explosion. Not only that, if they really wanted us dead they wouldn't have used gun powder, they would've used something like C4 so we wouldn't be able to the smell. What exactly is going?"

"Meyrin." Takashi said snapping her out of thoughts for the twentieth time that day.

"Huh?" She looked over at him. "What were we talking about?"

He sighed and it was his turn to look away. "What's going on? Are you hiding something from me?"

"No, of course not, I told you everything back in the summer house."

"Then why doesn't this make any sense at all? Something's not right."

"Well, what do you want me to tell you? I'm still trying to figure this out." She turned and looked off into the distance. "It doesn't make sense to me either."

Another silence fell upon them.

"What do we do now?" He asked turning so he could look at her.

"Keep going, I guess. I mean we've come this far, it'd be stupid if we just turned around and left." She said with a smile and looked over at him.

He returned her smile and pulled her into a hug. She sighed happily and enjoyed the moment while it lasted. After a minute or so they let go.

"We should get going." Meyrin said.

"Yeah." He agreed.

They didn't run or jog or speed walk. They just simply walked hand in hand at a slow pace. They both knew that they were in a rush but they just didn't want to run at the moment, or do much of anything. Anytime they ran into a zombie they would avoid it and go the long way around it. Although part of the reason might have been because they had no weapons or more like they don't remember where they disappeared to. Of course this took so much more time but it was the safer way to do things. By the time evening had hit they had probably only walked a little over 17 miles, taking about three hours to walk ten miles. They decided they had walked far enough and rested in one of the houses. They blocked the entrances with furniture and found some food they could eat in the refrigerator.

"How far do you think we got?" Takashi asked as he took a bite of the sandwich.

"I don't know but we can't keep walking like this tomorrow." Meyrin plopped down on the ground beside him. "We're going to have to hotwire a car or something."

"Yeah, you know how to do that, right?" He asked.

"Of course I do."

He nodded his and they continued to eat in silence.

"So, did they teach you all of this?" Takashi said breaking the silence once again.

"Well not necessarily, but you catch on to things." She shrugged.

"What was it like over there?"

"Well it was different. Uhm, it was hard having to learn the languages from time to time. Although once you get the hang of one the others are kind of easy to learn."

"What languages did you learn to speak?"

"Well the first one I learned was English, then French, Spanish, German, Russian, and Italian."

"So you're fluent in those languages?"

"Not completely but I could get you a plate of pasta in Italy." She said with a small laugh.

"Where did you live?"

"Well I never live in one place for too long but when I first arrived I was in England. It was nice there; I loved The London Eye."

"You rode on that?"

"Yeah, I rode it at least once a month if possible."

"How long did you stay there?"

"About a year, and the same goes for everywhere else I went except for when I was in Russia, I spent my last six years there."

"Out of all the places which one did you like the most?"

"Hm, that's a tough one." She stopped eating for a moment and thought about it. "I think Austria, because it was peaceful, and there were a whole lot of less people compared to the places I had been."

"I can understand that."

Meyrin nodded her head and finished off what she was eating. She stood up and stretched. "I think we should go get some sleep."


	16. You saved me?

"Rise and shine!" Meyrin said as she barged into the room where Takashi was sleeping. He groaned and rolled over, bringing the covers above his head. "Come on, it's take to get up. We got lots of things to do!" She said as she went over to the side of the bed. "Wake up." She said and poked him. He groaned and turned his back to her. She sighed "You asked for it." She jumped up and landed on top of him.

"Gah!" He said as he sat up and pushed her off the bed.

"Good morning~" She chimed.

"What type of awakening was that?" He asked as he ran a hand through his hair.

"My type of awakening, anyway come one, breakfast is ready and we'll be leaving soon." She said as she headed out the room. He sighed and pulled the covers off him and stumbled over to the shower.

Meyrin hummed as she went back into the kitchen to set the 'table' which basically meant finding some napkins to put the sandwiches on. A few minutes Takashi came in.

"Finally decided to crawl out of bed?" She said with a smirk.

"Yeah" He said as sat down on one of the sofa cushions on the floor.

"So how'd you sleep?" She asked as she plopped down beside him and handed him his sandwich.

"It was okay I guess." He took a bite out of the sandwich. "What about you."

"It was decent but I had a weird dream." She said and took a bite of her sandwich as well.

"A weird dream?"

"Yeah it's hard to explain because I don't remember it but I just know it was weird." She looked at her sandwich thoughtfully. "I think it had to do with exploding bunnies."

Takashi looked at her like she was crazy.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing." He said and looked away.

She raised an eyebrow but decided to finish off her sandwich instead of inquiring. After eating their food they got up and decided to rip off whatever part of the house that could be used as a weapon which mostly consisted of breaking through the walls and pulling out any pipes they could. By the end of it there was water flooding the place.

"Well I think this will do." Meyrin said as she swung the pipe around. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go." Takashi said as he swung his pipe over his shoulder. They moved the furniture out the way and opened the door quietly. Meyrin nodded to signal that the coast was clear. They ran down the street and almost ran into the car when they turned the corner.

"Well that's convenient." Meyrin thought to herself. "A little too convenient." She looked around suspiciously.

"I don't trust it." She said and continued to run past it.

"Why?" Takashi asked as he caught up to her.

"Don't you think it's a little too convenient that it right around the corner and that it's such a nice brand car?"

"Well when you put it that way…"

"Exactly, we'll get the next one we come across."

Even though she said that they really didn't. Instead she decided to ignore any car that seemed in too good of a condition.

"Meyrin is this really necessary?" Takashi asked as they passed the tenth car.

"Would you rather take you rather take your chances and explode inside a car?" She challenged.

"Well no but-"

"There are no buts, we got one chance at this life and I really don't want to have it end because I was careless."

He sighed and decided to give in. Knowing her this argument could last a lifetime. They walked in silence the rest of the way until finally something caught Meyrin's eye.

"Get down." She said as dived into some bushes, dragging Takashi with her.

"What's going on?" He asked as he peaked over the bushes.

"I said get down!" She whispered and pushed him back down.

"Ow." He mumbled.

She peaked between the openings in the bush. Something on the other side of the houses drove by, she couldn't quite see it but she already had a feeling she knew what it was. She turned around to check what was behind her.

"Another row of houses…" She thought to herself. Looked back and the vehicle had drove by. She got up and slowly stepped back onto the paved road.

"Come on." She said and started to jog down the street.

"If it's who I think it is then there's a possibility they're following us. If they are then they're probably here to kill us." She glanced back at Takashi. She didn't want to get him caught in the crossfire but leaving him alone isn't an option either. They could take him hostage if he was left alone.

"Watch out." Takashi said and grabbed her arm, pulling her behind him. A few feet ahead of her was the R.V. She narrowed her eyes and expected the worst. From the other side of the R.V. a figure stumbled out. They both took a cautious step back as the figure limped a bit closer.

"It's her isn't it?" Takashi whispered.

Meyrin nodded her head and just as she was about to speak the figure collapsed. They were both stunned for a second and exchanged looks. The same thought crossed both their minds.

"Are they going to turn into a zombie?"

They nodded at each other and both slowly began to make their way towards the collapsed figure.

"Aiko… why are you here? What happened to you? Why did you leave?" Meyrin thought as she looked at the body.

"What do we do?" Takashi asked.

Meyrin flipped the body over careful to keep as much distance between them by using the pole. The front part of the shirt was stained crimson with blood.

"Do you think she was bitten?" Takashi asked.

Meyrin kneeled down and looked at the body. "No, it looks lik-" Aiko's hand suddenly grasped onto Meyrin's wrist, scaring both Meyrin and Takashi.

"Mistress… you musn't go back to the mansion." Aiko mumbled just barely able to say anything at all.

"What do you mean?" Meyrin asked.

"You musn't go back. They… they…"

"They what? Who's there?"

Aiko pulled herself closer to Meyrin so that she could whisper in her ear.

"They're plotting something… they want to lure you in… mistress, please don't go to the mansion." With that, Aiko passed out.

Meyrin looked at her, bewildered.

"What? What are they plotting? And why would they want to lure me in? Do I have something that they want? Or do I know something I'm not supposed to know?" She thought as she stood up.

"What are we going to do?" Takashi asked.

She looked at the R.V then at the maid. "She's the only one that can tell me what I'm getting into."

"We're going to save her, get her into the R.V." Meyrin ordered.

Takashi looked at Meyrin, surprised but at the same time not. He knew Meyrin could kill anyone regardless of the bonds that she held with them but she was also very kind hearted.

"How could someone that contradicts themselves like that live?" He thought as he picked up Aiko.

"You can drive right?" Meyrin asked as they got into the R.V.

"Uh, I'm not very good at it…" He said.

"Well there are no cars and we're not in a rush. Do you think you can drive with those conditions?" She asked as she closed the door and pointed to where he should set Aiko down.

"… I-"

"You took too long to respond, you'd get us killed if you drove." She said and sat down in the driver's seat. "Stop her bleeding, you can do that much, right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, then." Meyrin drove off and Takashi set to work to keep Aiko from losing blood. Ten minutes later Meyrin had them isolated in one of the higher elevations of the town. "What's the status?" She asked she went to the back where Takashi was.

"She still hasn't stopped bleeding. If this goes on…"

"She'll die, yeah I know." Meyrin opened up one of the closets and pulled out a first-aid kit, however unlike others, it was much larger and more sophisticated. She walked over the sink and washed off her hands and the utensils she was going to use. "Takashi do me a favor and stay towards the front. If anything weird happens tell me."

"Right." Takashi said and left a bit happier since he was able to get away from all that blood.

"Now let's see if we can't find that pesky bullet." Meyrin said as she pulled on the latex gloves.

"She's alive?" Takashi asked.

"Yeah, I still need answers so she's gonna stay alive till they're answered." Meyrin said as she disposed of the latex gloves covered in blood.

"Don't you think that's a bit harsh?"

"Hm, maybe but I need my questions to be answered." She said and began to put everything back.

"How long do you think it will be until she wakes up?"

"Hm, a few days." She sighed and looked out the window. "This is taking longer than I had expected…"

"Either way." She said and turned her attention back to Takashi. "We have to go get food and supplies. There's not much to work with here. However one of us is going to go get food and the other is going to stay here. I'm staying here you're going out for food." Meyrin said and plopped down in the seat. She wasn't leaving this up for discussion, what she said goes.

"Fine." Takashi said not wanting to argue with her. "Where-"

"There's a gas station down the street. Get what you can from there. If you need a bag there's one in the closet."

Takashi noticed the changed in the air around her. She became dreadfully serious and a bit frightening. He began to think that the reason she wanted to stay was to kill Aiko herself.

"I'm not going to kill her." Meyrin said.

"I wasn't-"

"Don't lie, your facial expressions were giving it away." She said and began to twirl a pen she found.

At that moment he realized just how terrifying she was. The atmosphere around here was suffocating and almost evil. Even back when she viewed him as an enemy the atmosphere wasn't this vicious. "If you have something to say, say it." She said growing tired of him staring at her.

He was brought back to reality and shook off the feeling of fear. After all it was only temporary, right?

"It's nothing." He finally said and turned away from her. "I'm leaving then, anything you want specifically."

"Hm, chocolate would be nice." She said jokingly.

Takashi mentally sighed, a bit relieved that she was reverting back to the kind woman he knew. "Right, then I'll make sure to bring you some."

With that he left and Meyrin was left alone with Aiko. She waited a few moments then finally stood up and headed to the back. She reached inside what was left of the clothing Aiko was wearing and pulled out a blood stained crumbled piece of paper. She opened it up but was unable to read it because of how much blood was on it. However there were a few words that she could read.

"Twelve, station, death, recreation, world, kingdom." She read to herself. She put the paper down and repeated the words to herself trying to see if she could make sense of them. She plopped down in one of the seats and let her mind set off to work. Trying to figure the different possibilities for what each word could be referring to.

"Twelve could either be a time or place. Station has to be a place. Death has to refer to someone or something that has passed. Recreation, they want to recreate something or someone perhaps those that have died? World can only mean the world. Kingdom, a place most likely."

Even yet, that didn't get her anywhere at all.

"Guess I'll just have to wait till she wakes up." She thought and glanced towards the back of the R.V. This was turning into something big and she really didn't want to find out. However this was probably linked to whatever was going on in the mansion. She didn't have a choice but to figure this out. She leaned back in seat and let out a long sigh.

Four days have passed since they found Aiko. However since they knew they were being targeted and something was going on in the mansion they decided to stay hidden and not move from the spot.

"If Aiko doesn't wake up, we're going to run out of supplies. We can only live off chips and soda for so long." Takashi said as he close the refrigerator with a sigh.

"I know but we're being targeted and I don't want us to move unless I know what we're getting ourselves into." Meyrin said as she leaned against the wall. "You also have to remember, she lost a lot of blood, and it'd be a miracle if she woke up any time soon. "

"I know, I know, but just how long are you planning on keeping us here. We still have to go back for everyone. They're waiting for us."

Meyrin's eyes widen just the slightest bit. She had forgotten about them even Kikyo.

"I completely forgot about them." She admitted.

"Already?"

"Unfortunately."

Takashi sighed. "This is why we have to hurry."

"I know, I know but what are we supposed to do? What can we do?"

They heard rustling and looked at each other then slowly made their way to where Aiko was. She was stirring a bit and it looked like she would wake up at any moment. The both watched anxiously, hoping that she would indeed wake up. Finally Aiko's eye fluttered open.

"M-mistress?" She muttered.

Meyrin smirked "So you finally decided to wake up?"

"You saved me?" She asked a bit amazed.

"Only because you have answers I need." Meyrin narrowed her eyes.

Aiko sunk back into the pillow a bit. "Answers?"

"Yup, answers and you're the only one that has them."

AIko watched as Meyrin took a set in the bunk across from her own.

"What's happening at the mansion?" Meyrin asked as she crossed her legs.

Aiko looked away. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"That's not a good excuse."

"If I tell you then you'll go."

"I'm going even if you don't tell me."

Aiko fell silent for a moment. "If I tell you must promise me one thing."

"And what might that be?"

"You don't turn back."

"Turn back?"

Aiko nodded her head in response.

"So be it." Meyrin agreed.

"In the mansion they're conducting experiments on the living, dead, and undead. They're trying to find a cure for this but at the same time they're trying to perfect this experiment. They want to bring people back from the dead so that humans can live eternally."

"That's crazy." Takashi said.

"It is, they're barely keeping the living alive. It's torture on a whole different level."

"That's despicable." Meyrin said coldly. "Who's conducting these expirments?"

"Those from the laboratories who managed to survive. They all gathered there."

"And that paper that was in your pocket?"

"The clothes didn't belong to me, it was already in there."

"One more question then. Why did you leave us in the manor without warning?"

"I received word about the experiments and came to stop them myself."

"Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"Because I wasn't sure if it was true or not and I didn't want to put you through the trouble of having to come back here when you just left."

"I see…"

The answers Aiko gave here seemed to fit into place just fine but something was still missing, something wasn't quite right. Meyrin stood up.

"We're taking you back to the summer house. Then I will come back on my own to the mansion to check this out."

"What?" Aiko and Takashi said.

"I'm not letting you come alone." Takashi said.

"Please listen, if they-"

"This is now something we're going to discuss. You are both going to stay in the manor and I will come back to check on the mansion. There are no excuses, buts, or exceptions. Understood?" Meyrin growled.

Aiko and Takashi fell silent.

"Good, now let's get to the summer house."


	17. The Mansion (Part I)

"So you only came here to drop her off in our care?" Saeko asked as she watched Meyrin rummage around the office.

"Yeah, this is becoming a personal problem." Meyrin responded as she flipped through the papers on the desk. "There's something going on in the mansion and I don't want you guys to get hurt because of me."

"I understand but there has to be something we can do to help." Saeko said as she pushed herself off the door frame.

"You already are, staying here and taking care of Aiko. Just by doing that you're taking a load off my shoulders. Trust me you're doing more than enough."

There was a brief silence in which all that could be heard was the sound of the papers moving around and the occasional chirping of the birds.

"And Takashi?" Saeko finally asked.

"What about him." Meyrin said as she turned to another stack of papers.

"Is he going with you?" Saeko asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Meyrin paused for a moment and took off the glasses she had put on previously. She looked up at Saeko with a serious expression. "No."

"Then let me come. You can't go by yourself, it's not safe." Saeko said as she neared the desk. "Don't try to carry this by yourself. We're here to help." Saeko put her hand over Meyrin's hand. "We're friends after all, right?"

Meyrin smiled slightly. "Yeah."

"Then let me come along." Saeko said and gave Meyrin's hand a firm squeeze.

Meyrin lowered her eyes then pulled her hand away. "No… you can't come…"

Saeko's eyes widen a bit.

"Because you are my friend." With that Meyrin left a shocked Saeko in the office.

Meyrin went up to the top floor to check on Aiko.

"Meyrin!" Shizuka said as Meyrin closed the door behind her.

"I'm sorry for having to put you through all this trouble." Meyrin said.

"Oh don't worry about it." Shizuka said waving it off.

"How is she doing?" Meyrin asked as she stood beside the bed where Aiko was sleeping.

"Well at the moment nothing seems to be out of order and she's still trying to recuperate from losing all that blood other than that though everything seems to be fine." Shizuka said as she looked at Aiko.

"I see, thank you." Meyrin said and bowed.

"Oh, no, no, it's nothing!" Shizuka said waving her hands in front of her frantically.

"Well for me it's something." Meyrin said as she straighten up and smiled.

Shizuka returned her smile tenfold.

"Well I think it's time for me to goodbye." Meyrin said as she headed towards the door. "Stay safe, okay?" She said and looked back as she opened the door.

"Will do." Shizuka said as Meyrin closed the door.

Meyrin walked down the hallway with a million thoughts crossing her mind.

"What exactly am I facing off here? Maybe I should get Saeko to come with me… no I'm not going to let others get hurt for my cause."

"Meyrin." Takashi said snapping Meyrin out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" Meyrin said looking over at him. "Oh, Takashi, it's you."

Takashi walked up to her and took her hands in his. "Are you really going to do this alone?"

Meyrin nodded. "I'm not letting other get hurt because of me. This has nothing to do with you guys anyway." She said firmly.

"It doesn't matter if it has anything to do with us or not!" He said and squeezed her hands.

"Yes it does." She said and pulled away. "If anything happens to you guys I'd never be able to forgive myself."

"You wouldn't have to forgive yourself. This is something that we want to do of our own will." He said trying to take her hands back in his.

"Yes I would." She said taking a step back and putting her hands to her side in fists. "You just don't understand!"

"Then make me understand!"Takashi said as they began to raise their voices.

"I can't just make you understand! It's not that simple! If it was then I would've done it!" Meyrin said stomping her foot. She let out an irritated sigh and turned away. "Look just stay here and let me do my thing." With that she left and headed down the stairs. She glanced back to see Takashi lean against the wall. She looked back in front of her and looked at her feet as she walked. She felt bad but she knew that it was for the best. She held her head up and continued down the rest of the stairs. There was nothing left to do, it was time for to head back to the city, back to the mansion. She headed back towards the main room and luckily it was empty. She inwardly sighed as she made her way through the front doors. She took a deep breath of the air outside, it was around two in the afternoon. The sun would set in a few hours, she had to make sure she got to the mansion before closed the door behind her and walked to the R.V. She reached into her pocket and took the keys out as she checked off a list in her mind. She wasn't carrying much with her, only a katana and the clothes she was wearing. She wanted to leave the rest of the weapons with Saeko and the others. Just in case the need for them arose. She went inside the R.V and sat there for a second before she finally decided to turn it on. She sighed as she drove down the path. Saya was inside and was going to open the gates from the inside then close them after she was gone, which saved her a lot of work. Once she was out onto the road she turned the radio on and listened to the music as it drowned out everything else.

Five minutes, that's the amount of time Meyrin had before she would arrive at the front gates of the mansion. It became harder for her to get a grip on the steering wheel and her mouth was becoming dry. She had no reason to be nervous, or that's what she told herself.

"There's nothing in there that should make nervous. What's the worse that could be in there? An army of zombies? What am I so afraid of seeing?" She looked down the road where the gates were showing up on the horizon. Slowly getting closer and larger. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel. "There's nothing for me to be afraid of. After all this is my mansion." She said to herself as she slammed her foot on the gas. Within seconds the R.V crashed into the front gates just barely managing to knock them down. "That should catch their attention." She thought with a slight smirk playing at her lips. She made sure that the katana was on her and secured. Then she grabbed the wooden plank from under the seat and pulled it through the steering wheel. She waited till the wall of the mansion was ten feet away before she opened the door and jumped out. Making sure that she rolled once she made impact with the ground so that not only would she absorb the impact of the fall but also avoid being jabbed by the katana. The R.V crashed into the wall of the mansion making an opening and exploding moments later. Meyrin managed to get far away enough so that the explosion wouldn't have impacted her. Meyrin stood up and looked around. If any zombies were around the sound would have attracted them so she had to make this a quick as she could. She looked at the opening that was engulfed by flames. "Not a big deal." She thought as she took a step back. "There's been worse." She took off hoping that the momentum would be enough for her to break through the wall of fire. She crossed her arms over her face as she jumped through the flames then once again rolled once she made it through and hit the ground. She jumped up and looked around. No one was there, yet. Meyrin but her hand on the hilt of the katana, ready to draw it at any sign of movement. She began down the hallways moving as quietly and cautiously as she could. "Why isn't anyone coming? I'm sure they heard the explosion." She thought as she looked around the corner. She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was behind her. She narrowed her eyes when she heard footsteps coming around the corner. She unsheathed the katana and took a step back as she presumed a fighting stance. A man stepped around the corner and she wasted no time in thrusting the sword enough to scare the man into jumping back into the wall. She held the sword inches away from the man's neck and he held his hands up in surrender.

"D-don't kill me! I'll tell you whatever you want to know!" The man said.

Meyrin recognized the voice and took a closer look at the man. "Haruto...?" She questioned.

The man looked at her and smirked as he spoke. "Well, look who's come for a visit." She noticed the bandage that was placed on the bridge of his nose. She narrowed her eyes and pressed the blade against his skin.

"Weren't you just begging for your life a few moments ago?" She growled.

"I was but then I figure that it's only you." He said as his smirk grew bigger.

She pressed the blade further, cutting into the first few layers of skin. He flinched.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He scoffed. "I heard and explosion and I came to check it out."

"That's not what I'm talking about." She said and once again pressed the sword further, drawing a bit of blood this time. "What are you doing here? In my mansion."

"You're mansion?" He laughed. "I would say 'don't make me laugh' but you already did."

"You li-"

"Don't move." A man from behind her said as he held a gun to her head. "Drop the sword."

"Like hell I will." She said as she used her back leg to kick the man in the stomach. The man fell back and the gun slipped out his hand. She spun around bringing the katana around. However someone fired at her hand, causing her to drop the katana. Before she could process what had just happened she was pushed down to the ground. A foot stomped on her back, knocking the air right out of her.

"Don't kill her just yet, I still have some unfinished business to wrap up with her." Haruto said as she kneeled in front of her. "Isn't that right?" He said tilting her chin up.

"Don't touch me you filthy bastard." She spat.

"She's a feisty one." The man with the foot on her back said.

"It wouldn't be fun if she wasn't." Haruto responded.

"Haruto, that's enough." A feminine voice said.

Haruto looked over his shoulder and sighed. "Why do you always have to ruin the fun for me." He said as he stood up.

"Hira-sama."

The foot on Meyrin's back was lifted and she could once again move freely.

The woman ignored him and knelt down beside Meyrin "Are you okay?" She asked.

Meyrin sat up and was about to make a snappy remark when she realized who this woman was.

"M-mom?" Meyrin stammered as her eyes widen.

The woman smiled. "Glad to see you're still alive."

"But... but how? You... and dad... you..."

The woman but her hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, I'll explain everything to you but for now, get some rest."

"This can't be happening... I saw them... they were zombies! And were killed! This has to be a trap or a setup." Meyrin thought as she sought for an explanation to all of this.

"Who are you?" Meyrin demanded.

"What do you mean? I'm your mother."

"Don't mess with me! I saw her die with my own eyes!" Meyrin yelled.

"Yes but you have to belie-"

"No, not I'm falling for such a stupid trap." Meyrin said as she stood up.

"What do you want me to do to prove to you that I am your mother?" The woman said as she stood up.

"Tell me something only my mother would know." Meyrin said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

The woman sighed. "You have a birthmark on your left shoulder blade that looks like a hand, when you were two you fell down the stairs and broke your arm, you had blond hair when you were born but turned black by the time you were three." She paused for a moment waiting for a reaction from Meyrin but she didn't react. "The Caesars wheel was located on the roof of the summer house.." She stated plainly.

Meyrin took in a sharp breath at the woman's last sentence.

"Anything else you want me to say?" The woman questioned with a smirk.

Meyrin analyzed the woman thoroughly, her looks matched. The long blond hair, although it was currently tied into a bun, the crystal eyes that were behind a pair of glasses, and the hour glass figure that was hidden behind a white lab coat. This was her mother. They stood for a moment just looking at each other, taking each other in as if they haven't seen each other in ages. As for the others around them, it felt like the tension between them was growing by the second. It seemed as if they would pounce and try to rip out each other's throats. A minute passed and the two both brought each other into a long deserved hug.

"I-I thought... you guys were gone." Meyring murmured as a few tears threatened her eyes.

"Hush, now." Her mother said softly. "It's okay, we're here now." Tears welled up in her eyes as well. "I-I'm so glad you're alive. We were so worried about you."

Meyrin buried herself into her mother's shoulder as her mother patted her back and whispered words of comfort. The others left them to have their moment but Haruto silently vowed to himself that he would get his revenge even if she was the daughter of the Akashi family.

"Come, we should tell your father." Hira said as she straightened up. "I'm sure he'd be glad to see you alive."

"Yeah..." Meyrin said with a small smile. Hira led the ways through what seemed like the never ending hallways and endless turns.

"Oh... about the wall and the gate.." Meyrin began.

"Don't worry about it. We already have people working on it." Hira responded with a smile.

"Oh okay." Meyrin said. She was a bit amazed at how quickly they had gotten their forces back together and organized. Not only that but the discipline as well. Anytime they would pass by someone in the hallway they would bow deeply until they were out of sight.

"Incredible, just how much respect do these people hold for her? Just how powerful is my mother?" She thought. It never occurred to her before to think about these things. She was always ignorant to this. Finally they stopped at two double doors that seemed to be made of only some sort of metal. Hira opened up the keypad and typed in a few numbers. With a small beep the doors opened and the two entered. Meyrin had never been to this part of the mansion, as a matter of fact she hasn't been in many places at all. She knew so much but so little about her home and family.

"Shino." Hira called out. One of the men among the several lab workers looked up.

"Hira, what's happened. Who caused the explosion?" The man said as he walked towards her, removing his gloves.

"Dad..." Meyrin thought as she watched from behind Hira.

"Take a look for yourself." Hira said as she moved out the way to reveal Meyrin.

Meyrin moved her hand in a small waving motion. "Hi dad."

"Meyrin?" The man said as he took her in. He walked up to her and went in a circle around her, double checking to make sure this was really his daughter.

"How many times are you going to keep going in circles until you give our daughter our hug?" Hira teased with a smile on her face.

"Meyrin." He breathed and brought her into a hug. "You don't know how glad I am to see that you're alive."

"Same here." Meyrin said as she hugged her dad. She wanted to cry but she didn't feel comfortable letting other cry. Especially her dad, someone who was said to never show emotion. Although she knew that wasn't true but even yet, she wanted to at least try to seem strong. Finally her father pulled away and took another look at her.

"You cut your hair." He said and ran his fingers through her short hair.

"Yeah... it was kind of getting in my way." Meyrin said with a small smile.

"I think I like it better this way." He said with a smile. "It reminds me of when you were little."

Meyrin returned his smile.

"I bet you're hungry, Meyrin." Hira said. "How about we all go to the dining room and get something to eat?"

"Oh no, it's fine. If you guys were doing something I don't want to interrupt you guys." Meyrin said as she looked at her mother.

"It's alright, I'm sure the guys down here can handle it." Shino said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Right guys?"

"Yes sir!" The crew said in unison.

"See, now let's go eat." Shino said as he led the way out. Once again they went down the endless hallways towards the dining room. Although this time Meyrin kind of knew where she was going but still decided to stay behind her parents just in case her memory fooled her. Once in the large dining room, they all sat on one side of the table. Meyrin looked around, it hadn't changed. The chandelier still hung high above their heads and the paintings on the walls were still there. A few vases were scattered on the table, each containing a different bouquet of one that caught her attention was the one filled with yellow lilies. She adored the color yellow.

"Meyrin." Her mother said grabbing her attention.

"Yes?" Meyrin said as she turned to her face her mother.

"How did you manage to escape?" Her father asked. The maids began to set down their glasses on the table and pour wine into them.

"Well, it wasn't the most difficult thing to do, at least not physically but emotionally it tore me apart." She replied. The maids bowed and walked back into the kitchen. "I took on of the R.V's in the garage along with a few weapons."

Her parents nodded their heads.

"But how did you know I was going to head to the summer house? Did you guys know that this was going to happen?" Meyrin asked.

Her parents exchanged looks and her father leaned forward a bit. "We did but didn't. It was a precaution just in case something like this would have happened."

"What do you mean? Are you the ones who caused this break out?"

The maids returned with three different carts of food and began to put the plates on the table.

"Of course not." Her mother said sounding a bit offended. "Why would you think of such a thing?"

"I didn't mean it like that." Meyrin said as she shook her head. "I was just trying to make sense of all of this."

The maids bowed once again once they were done setting up the plates and placing the food onto them. Then left to go back to the kitchen.

Her father sighed. "If we were the ones that caused this outbreak it might have been a bit easier."

"How?" Meyrin asked they began to eat.

"If we had caused it then we would have already known what we were dealing with and how to cure it." Her mother cut in."However by the looks of it whoever caused this didn't do it by accident."

Her father nodded his head. "Indeed, we haven't received any intel on any other groups that have admitted to this."

"But why? Why cause an outbreak like this? What are they trying to accomplish?" Meyrin asked.

"Who knows?" Her mother said with a shrug. "Attention possibly."

"If they had wanted attention they would have said something by now." Her father said. There was a brief silence besides the sound of their forks tapping against the plates.

"Are you guys the only ones trying to find a cure?" Meyrin finally spoke up.

"In Japan." Her father said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "There are several other groups across the globe but this situation has us all baffled."

"So this thing, is like a virus?" Meyrin asked.

"Not quite." Her mother said. "In the first few stages it does but this is something completely different. Something unlike any other thing we've ever seen or studied before. Odds are it was manmade."

"I see..." Meyrin muttered as she continued to eat.

"Anyway enough about this." Her father said. "How have you been? You know how have you handled the situation?"

"Okay, I suppose. After I left the mansion I met up with a few others and traveled with them." Meyrin said as she leaned back in her chair a bit.

"Where are they now?" Her mother asked.

"I left them in the summer house. It was the safest place for them to stay."

"Tell us from the beginning." Her father said.

Meyrin sighed and nodded her head.

"This might take a while."

She told them the story from the moment she woke up the morning the outbreak started to the moment where her mother found her. Her parents stayed silent the whole time, nodding their head every once in a while to let her know that they were listening but they never asked any questions. Even after she was done with the story they made no comments or asked any questions.

"Well I believe it's getting late." Her mother said as she stood up.

"Yes, and you must be tired from all this traveling." Her father said as he also stood up. "Let's all get some sleep and continue this tomorrow, deal?"

"Deal." Meyrin said as she stood up.

"You remember where your room is, right?" Her mom asked as they walked out the dining room.

"Of course." Meyrin replied.

"Good, everything has been cleaned up and changed. So you don't have to worry about that." Her mother said.

"That's a relief." Meyrin said. "Well good night." She said as she went up the stairs.

"Good night." Her mother said.

"If anything happens tell us or scream." Her father said.

"I will." Meyrin said as she reached the top of the stairs.

"Lock your door in case." Her father said.

"Yes sir." Meyrin said.

Her father smiled. "Good night."

"Night." Meyrin said. With that they went their separate ways. Meyrin entered her room and the smell of freshly cleaned blankets hit her. She took in a deep breath and closed the door behind her, making sure to lock it as her father warned her. She changed into a night gown and plopped down into her bed.

"It's good to be home..."


	18. The Mansion (Part II)

"What shall we do now that she's come into the equation?"

A silence fell upon the small group that sat at one end of the a large table. The room dimly lit by the computers in the far corner of the room. None of their faces could be seen, they were masked by the darkness.

"Everything will proceed as normal. Not a word of this is leaked out to her or any of the others. This is to stay between the four of us, understood?" A feminine voice said.

"Understood." Two of them responded.

The third nodded their head grimly and then finally replied. "Very well, you are dismissed."

The other two bowed and left the room, leaving the man who dismissed the meeting and the woman who gave the orders.

"Will this really be okay?" The woman asked quietly.

"It's too late to be asking those questions." The man said without looking at her. "This has been planned for many years. We cannot turn back anymore, even if she were to disagree with it."

"And if this fails?" The woman asked as her voice cracked a bit.

"Then we shall become the villains and fail with it." The man finally turned and looked at the woman.

"All of this... has been for her."

Small rays of sunlight poured into the room as Meyrin stirred in her bed, wanting to hold on to her sleep for as long as possible. Sadly her and sleep were not meant to be together for very long that morning. She sighed and threw the covers off her as she sat up in her bed. She stretched herself as she yawned. Then a knock came at the door.

"Come in." Meyrin said as she combed her fingers through her hair.

"Good morning." Her mother said as she came in. "How did you sleep?"

"Better than I have in the past few days." Meyrin said with a smile.

"That's good to hear." She said as she sat at the foot of Meyrin's bed. Breakfast will be ready soon."

Meyrin nodded her head. "Okay, just give me a moment to jump into the shower and I'll be down there." She stood up and took in a deep breath.

"Also, I want to apologize about yesterday."

"Don't worry about it." Meyrin said with a shrug. "I've been through worse."

"Yes but I just feel so bad..."

Meyrin turned back to look at her mother who was fumbling with her thumbs, keeping her gaze down at the ground.

"Mom."

Her mother looked up at her and Meyrin flashed a smile. "Don't worry about it." With that she left and headed into the bathroom. Her mother sat on the bed looking at the space where her daughter was just standing, the words repeating in her mind.

"She's grown up so much... I didn't even notice." She thought to herself as realization dawned upon her. "I've missed the most important part of her life." She felt a piece of her heart break away. She missed her only daughter's childhood, and all for what? She buried her head in her hands. "Where have I been? Why did I allow her to be taken at such a young age? I missed the most important moments of her life.." She stayed there grieving over everything she didn't do for her daughter. Everything she wasn't able to teach her. "What have I done?" She shook her head and dried the few tears that she shed as she stood up. "No, I can't think so selfishly. Even if I did want her to myself it would never be possible. Everything I've done, everything I'm doing is for her future!" She glanced at the the bathroom door. "She will become..." He eyes were filled with determination as she exited the room. "The greatest creature on earth!"

A few minutes later Meyrin emerged from the bathroom, a towel draped around her. "That was refreshing." She said to herself as she headed towards her wardrobe. "Should take showers more often." She opened the doors to reveal the rainbow of clothes she had ranging from formal gowns to overalls to flip-flops. Not wanting to waste too much time on the subject she decided to just take out the first thing she touched, which so happened to be a pair of blue jean overalls. She also pulled out a blue t-shirt to put on under the overalls. After she changed she dried her off and combed through it.

"It's nice being..." Her thoughts stopped at the sight of the telephone on her nightstand. She glanced at the door. She thought out the possibility of someone coming in without knocking, not likely. "Just in case..." She locked the door and went to the phone picking it up and dialing the number as fast as she could. She put it up to her ear and listened to the ring. After the fourth someone picked up but didn't say anything.

"Is anyone there?" Meyrin finally asked.

"Meyrin!" saeko said with a sigh of relief. "Where are you?"

"In the mansion but I don't really know what's happening. There are still some things I need to think over before I can come to a conclusion."

"What do you mean? What's going on?"

"That's the thing, I don't know."

There was a knock at the door.

"Oi, your mother told me to come get you. Breakfast is ready." The voice on the other side of the door said. Meyrin concluded it was most likely Haruto.

"One moment!" meyrin said as she put the phone away from her ear a bit. "I'll be down in a second, go ahead and go on without me."

"No can do. She told me not to come unless you were with me."

"Meyrin?" Saeko said catching her attention.

"Look, Saeko, I have to go. I'll talk to you later. Bye." She said and hung up. "Fine, I'm comin, I'm coming." Meyrin said and put the phone down then walked over to the door.

"Hurry up, I'm hungry." Haruto whined

"Meyrin sighed as she opened the door. "You're annoying, you know that?"

"Oh come on, what did I do?" He asked as she began to walk down the hallway.

"Knock on my door."

"Just for that?" He said as he caught up to her.

"No, there's a whole list but that would take too much time." She said with a shrug.

He sighed. "What's your problem?"

"You." She mumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Me?" He whiend

"Yes, you." She growled.

"Well then." He said dramatically.

"Is this how you really act?" She asked as they finally started descend downt he stairs. "You were more likable when we first me."

"Ah, so you did like me." He chimed.

"Not in the way you think." She growled.

"Then how?" He asked.

"I'll leave that for you to figure out." She jumped over the last few steps and picked up her pace.

"Oi! Wait up." He called after her.

"Speed up." She responded

He sighed dramatically. "You're so mean to me."

"That's the point."

Luckily for Meyrin the dining room was now right in front of her. She pushed the doors open and was glad that Haruto decided to shut up.

"Good morning." Her father said as he looked up from the stack of papers in front of him.

"Good morning." She replied with a smile.

"How was your awakening?" He asked as she took a seat.

"It was rather peaceful even though I wanted to stay asleep for a little longer."

"If that was the case you should've rested a bit longer."

"Yea, but once I'm awake, I'm not going back to sleep." She said sheepishly.

"Well I suppose you get that trait from your father." A woman with lavender colored hari said.

Meyrin's mother giggled and took a sip of her coffee. Meyrin noticed the woman and something in her head clicked. She knew who this woman was. In the meanwhile her father and mother were now arguing about which trait came from whom.

"... I've seen this woman before, but where?" Meyrin thought as she stared at the woman. Eventually the woman notice Meyrin's stare. For a moment it looked as if she was thinking about something then she finally spoke up.

"It's been awhile hasn't it, meyrin?" the woman said as she stood up. Meyrin snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the woman in confusion. "The last time I saw you, you were still in the cradle." The woman approached her. "You've blossomed into a beautiful flower." The woman stopped a foot away from Meyrin.

"Meyrin." Her mother said. "This is one of my sisters. She's the first of us triplets."

"Kato, Shizune." The woman said with a smile. "I'm your aunt."

Meyrin's facial expressions turned into one of shock. She glanced between her mother and her supposed aunt. They looked so different! She never would have guessed they were related, much less triplets.

"So where's the other triplet?" Meyrin asked as she turned to her mother. Before she got her the chance to reply Shizune already beat her to it.

"She's probably somewhere sleeping her ass off." Shizune shrugged as she headed back to her seat.

"Oh, now you know how much work she's been doing for the past few days." Hira defended.

"Yeah, all she's been doing is sitting in front of that damn computer screen." Shizune said.

"Well I suppose I know who doesn't get along with whom." Meyrin thought as she decided to sit down next to her father.

"Here." Her father said and passed her a cup of coffee.

"Thank you." Meyrin said as she took the cup, By now the two sisters were arguing about who did the most work and who slept the most. "Uhm, shouldn't we try to stop them?" Meyrin asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

Her father leaned back in his chair and continued to look through the stack of papers. "Is ay family problems should stay within the family."

"But aren't we part of the family as well?" She asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Yes and no." Her father replied. "Just let them solve this."

Meyrin sighed and leaned back in her chair as well. At this moment she realized that Haruto wasn't around. She was glad but at the same time was slightly worried about leaving that idiot roaming around he manor but then again she didn't want him anywhere near herself. She glanced at the papers in front of her father and tried to see if she could read what was on them. However it was written in code, which didn't surprised her much. When she was younger she remembered finding documents that were written in code. She always thought they were just squiggly lines on paper. Meyrin mentally laughed at the memory.

"Right, Meyrin?" Hira said snapping Meyrin out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" Meyrin said and looked over to her mother and supposed triplet. "Uhm.. what was the question?"

"I'm not a drama queen, am I?" Hira asked.

"Of course you are, don't even try to get your daughter to lie for you." Shizune said. "I bet she probably doesn't even know. I mean you shipped her overseas for 11 damn years. She didn't even know you had sisters!"

"Well at least I don't use such dirty language. At least try to show some respect around my family." Hira scowled.

"They don't give a rat's ass whether I show respect or not, right Meyrin?" Shizune said turning to Meyrin.

"Uhh..." Meyrin said.

"Now come on be honest, which one of us is the better one?" Shizune continued.

"Oh dear, not this question... There's not a way to answer it without having either of them being angry with me." Meyrin thought as she looked between the two.

"Now, don't set her up with such difficult questions." Her father said.

"Come on Shino, we would have you judge but you're married to Hira." Shizune said.

"Well I'm her daughter; wouldn't that make me more lenient towards choosing my own mother over an aunt that I just met?" Meyrin said.

"Would it?" Shizune challenged. "After all you've just returned from an overseas study that lasted for 11 years of your life. No family bonding at all.

"Well I just met you so I doubt you're in a better position than either of them. "Meyrin argued.

"True but I wouldn't have sent my daugher overseas for 11 years of her life." She snapped.

"So what if they sent me overseas? It was for my education!"

"Don't give me that education bullshit. There wasn't anything over there that they couldn't have taught you right here at home.

"Meyrin's mouth opened to respond but there was nothing else to say. Shizune was right, everything she was taught could've been taught right here in the manor. Even if they didn't have time for her they could have hired a private tutor.

"Alright, alright, that's enough!" A voice said as the dining room doors opened. They all turned their attention to the woman with silver hair coming into the dining room.

"Well if it isn't Isabelle." Shizune said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "About damn time you woke up."

Isablle sighed. "And you still have that cursing problem." The dining room doors closed behind her. "You guys sure were making some noise, I could hear it from down the hallway." She plopped down in one of the chairs. "Shizune learnt to stay out of others business they'll raise their child like they want to." She nodded to Hira with a smile. Hira nodded back gratefully. Then she looked over at Meyrin. "My, you've grown a lot. I'm the last triplet, Isabelle."


	19. The Golden Triplets

Meyrin looked at the three, still trying to process the fact that they were triplets.

"But… how?" She mumbled.

"Well you see when a woman and a man love each other a lot…" Isabelle started.

"I know that!" Meyrin said not wanting to get a speech.

Isabelle chuckled. "Then there's nothing to ask then."

Meyrin took in the differences between the three. Her mother, Hira, had her golden hair, blue eyes, and hour glass figure. Shizune had lavender colored hair, acid green eyes, and was the tallest of the three. Isabelle had silver hair, blood red eyes, and a petite figure. There was no way possible that they were related, much less triplets.

"I'm sorry but I just can't wrap my head around this." Meyrin said as she shook her head. "You three don't even look close to related."

The three women exchanged looks then began to laugh. Meyrin raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" Meyrin asked.

Shino released a sigh. "Meyrin, you'd be better off just not even thinking about it or asking. If you think about it your head will start to hurt. If you ask about it then you get a back story that never ends."

"I'm guessing you're saying this from experience." Meyrin said as she turned her attention to her father.

He nodded his head and took a sip of his coffee. "Trust me, this isn't something you want to get involved with."

Meyrin sighed and drank a bit of her coffee. "I suppose you're right."

"Aw, come on. Our back story isn't that long." Isabelle whined.

"What are you talking about? Of course it is." Shizune said.

"But it wouldn't be interesting if it wasn't." Hira said with a smile.

"Our back story isn't interesting." Shizune said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"What are you talking about? Of course it is! We went on so many adventures!" Isabelle said.

"Those weren't adventures." Shizune scowled.

"Of course they were." Isabelle said with a hint of harshness in her tone. Hira shrunk back a bit and kept her eyes down towards the ground.

"Alright, that's enough." Shino said sternly. "This is no time to be arguing." He put down the cup of coffee with a loud thud. "If you want to argue then go outside." He growled.

A silence fell upon the room. Shino looked at everyone in the room, waiting for anyone who dared try to challenge him.

"Excuse me." Shizune said as she stood up. "I've lost my appetite." She sad and left the room, closing the door rather harshly behind her. There was a momentarily silence before Hira stood up.

"I'll go talk to her." Hira said as she left the room.

"What a killjoy." Isabelle sighed as she leaned back in her chair. "She just loves to make everything look depressing."

"She doesn't make things look depressing, she sees them the way they are." Shino said.

"And that's what makes them depressing." Isabelle mumbled.

"Sorry to interrupt but, what exactly are we talking about?" Meyrin asked.

The two adults turned their attention to the teenager.

"It's nothing important." Isabelle as she closed her eyes momentarily. "Just family stuff."

"Well, I'm part of the family, aren't I? Or have I been away too long to be counted as family?" She said barely above a whisper.

Isabelle looked at her with wide eyes but soon her features turned into an expression displaying anger. "Don't you dare ever say that again!" Isabelle pratically yelled. Meyrin reared back in surprise, not expecting the woman to react in such a way.

"Isabelle!" Shino growled and slammed his fist on the table. "That's enough!"

Isabelle's jaw tighten and she sent a heated glare at Shino but it didn't compare to the glare Shino was sending her. She looked away and scowled.

"I've had enough of this yelling, ever since you arrived that's all I've heard." Shino said through gritted teeth. "One more outburst and I promise that you will be outside with nothing but the clothes on your back."

Meyrin flinched at the harshness in his voice. As a child she never heard him speak with such anger. She stared at her father, wondering just how many times he snapped like that, if he ever did. She was snapped out her thoughts when she heard a sob escape Isabelle. Her eyes flickered to Isabelle who now had her head in her hands, her fingers tangling in her hair. Meyrin blinked in surprise, not knowing what exactly happened or how to deal with what was happening. Shino stood up and excused himself from the room, leaving Meyrin and Isabelle alone in the dining room. Meyrin looked at the woman who was crying her soul out. Meyrin contemplated on whether she wanted to leave or stay and try to comfort Isabelle. She decided the latter.

"Isabelle..." Eyrin said softly and moved closer to the woman. "Don't mind my father... he's just tired and you just caugh-"

"N-no, it's my fault." Isabelle said as she straighten up. "I'm sorry." She wiped away the tears and tried to stop the ones that were still falling.

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for." Meyrin said kindly.

"No, i-it's my fault, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that." She said barely managing to smile.

Another silence set in between the two with the exception of Isabelle's attempts to stop crying. Meyrin leaned back in her chair and let out a long breath she didn't know she was holding.

"I shouldn't have said that, it was stupid." Meyrin said as she kept her gaze glued on the ceiling. "I don't know what I was thinking." She laughed a bit. "I guess I got carried away."

"It happens to the best of us." Isabelle said as she finally managed to stop crying. "I got carried away as well... must run in the family." The both of them giggled.

"I guess so." Meyrin said as she turned to look at Isabelle. Isabelle smiled at Meyrin and she returned the smile. Although, one question was burning in the back of her head.

"Why did she snap? Even if I did get carried away she didn't have to snap like that. It must have triggered something but what? Something from the past? A memory?" Meyrin thought for a moment, although she didn't know anything about this woman but that didn't mean she couldn't pick things up from the way she acted and responded to things. Isabelle realized Meyrin was trying to figure something out when Meyrin looked over at her then off into the distance, after a few seconds she saw something clicked in her mind but right afterwards her eye brows knitted and it would start over again.

"Trying to figure something out?" Isabelle asked and snapped Meyrin out of her thoughts.

"Uh... yeah." Meyrin said.

"Is there anyway I can help you?" Isabelle asked as she leaned in a bit closer. "You can just ask if you want to know something."

"I know but it just seemed... weird... I guess..."

"Weird?" Isabelle laughed. Meyrin looked away in embarrassment. This is exactly why she didn't want to ask. "Aw, come on. We're family, aren't we? You don't have to be embarrassed." Isabelle said and patted Meyrin's back. "Now go on, ask whatever it is you want to ask."

Meyrin looked at Isabelle for a moment then looked away and bit her lip and thought about it. Did she really want to ask this question?

"Come on, I'm not getting any younger here." Isabelle said after a minute of silence.

"Okay." Meyrin took in a deep breath, not completely sure of shy she didn't want to ask but did it anyway. "Why did you snap like that? I know what I said was stupid but it didn't cause for such a reaction of I don't think it did."

Isabelle looked at Meyrin, her face showing no sign of shock or anything of the sort. The tension in the room rose up and it was making Meyrin uncomfortable. Meyrin glanced at the door, wanting to leave this room before the tension went up any higher and suffocated her. Isabelle chuckled, drawing Meyrin's attention back to her.

"You're smarter than I expected." Isabelle said. Meyrin felt proud but decided not to show it, at least not at the moment. Isabelle leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. "Well I suppose the only way to answer that is to start from the beginning." She opened one eye to peek at Meyrin. "Besides you probably need to learn some of your family history." She closed her eye and took in a deep breath. "Let's see, I guess I should start on that day..."

FLASHBACK

Wonderful music was being played by the orchestra as three young girls came into the manor. Everyone was dressed in silky ball gowns, suits and gorgeous masks, each trying to look the best. The girls made their way thgouhg the crowd, nodding every once in awhile to whoever smiled at them. To anyone else it just seemed like a normal ball but there was something behind the scenes that no one else saw. The girls walked tot he center of the room, right underneat the great chandelier dressed in gold and silver. The three sttod in a small circle smiling and acting as if they were gossping and played it off rather well. The grils were dressed in the same style dress but in diffferent colors, pink, light green and royal blue. They looked around once again, looking at the faces of the many different nobles. It was a ball to celebrate a newly wedded couple and many were looking forward to the business advantages that came out of the wedding. That's the way things usually were, the only reason people were married was to benefit businesses. It was rare to ever see love in these types of things, it was cruel but no one seemed to care. The girls exchanged glances and nodded to each other. They split off into opposite directions, each heading for a door or exit. The orchestra ended their song just as they go to their position, the crowd applauded and the conductor bowed a few times before turning back to the orchestra. There was silence as everyone waited for the next song to start but then suddenly there was the sound of breaking on the floor.

"My apologies." A man said as he knelt down to pick up the pieces of the glass up.

"No please allow me." A servant said as she knelt down and began to pile the pieces of glass onto his tray. "I wouldn't want anyone to get cut."

CRASH

The chandelier crashed into the ground. The few policemen and security guards that were there all ran to the chandelier. Once they were gone the girls locked the exits they were by. they then reached under their dresses and unstrapped the pistols from their legs. The on in the green dress fired a shot towards the ceiling gaining everyone's attention.

"Get down and no one gets hurt." She said in a calm voice. The other two girls pointed their pistols towards the crowd along with the others that were also guarding the exits. No one moved. The girl sighed and pointed it to the closest person to her. "Get down." She said in a more demanding voice. Everyone dropped down to the floor as they were told. A wave of whispers enveloped the crowd and a few cries from the younger children could be heard.

"We need them to shut up." The girl in the pink dress stated.

The other two nodded.

"K-3." The girl in the royal blue dress called.

A man dressed in a black suit with raven colored hair and a black mask walked over to them.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Get them to shut up. We won't be able to hear the signal." The girl in the blue dress demanded.

"Understood." The man said and turned towards the crowd. The three girls left the ballroom and headed into the manor. They checked the rooms to make sure no one else was around.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone else around. The one in green said.

"They're all at the ball." The one ins blue said.

"That's wh-" She stopped mid sentence when she felt a sharp pain in her right hip. She looked down and there in her hip was a dart, most likely poisoned. "Shit." She said and pulled the dart out her side. The three of them narrowed their eyes towards the end of the hallway. A boy, around the same age as them was standing there with two other darts in his hand and a dagger in his other hand.

"So we meet again." He said with a smirk.

"It's that damn Silver Dagger." The one in pink whispered.

"So that means they were right." The one in green said.

"We're dealing with the White Samurai." The one in blue said. "If that's the case..." She reached back under her dress and pulled out a gold dagger. "We'll need these and won't need this." She used the dagger to rip through the bottom portion of the dress. It allowed her to move more freely and also made sure to kick off the heels she was wearing. The other two did the same.

"The Golden Triplets." He said as he took a step forward. "The Masked Samurai are here, aren't they?"

"Did you manage to figure that out yourself?" The triplets said in unison.

The boy chuckled. "Let's dance shall we?" He charged at the three. The on in the blue charged out to meet him but he jumped over her and landed behind her but before he could do anything else, the other two were already attacking him. He managed to dodge their attacks but was distracted and didn't from the one in blue. He was pushed into the wall but somehow manged to dodge their attacks. Although that was short lived because soon he had his limbs pinned down by the three girls and a dagger at his neck.

"It's over." The one in blue said.

"You don't want to kill me." He said calmly.

"Of course I do, you're a nuisance." She replied.

"If you kill me, you won't get the antidote to the poison dart." He said.

"Our scientist and researchers can figure it out." She said witha shrug.

"If you make it there in time." He said with a devilish smirk. The three girls narrowed their eyes at the boy. "You have five minutes before the effects start." He paused and looked at the girl for a moment. "You can probably already feel them as we speak. Fatigue, nausea, cramping, shortness of breath..." He trailed off. "I'm sure you're getting the point."

She narrowed her eyes even further but he was right. The effects were already taking place, she could barely see what was in front of her now.

"After those five minutes, you have ten minutes until you pass out and after those ten minutes you have ten more before your body goes into cardiac arrest." He smile widen. "After that you're dead."

"Tch, how do we even know if you have the antidote on you?" The one in pink scowled.

"Trust me I have it." He looked down towards a locket, that was of course locked. "It's in the lock but if you kill me you'll never get it."

"Fi-"

"Tch, a small price for your death." The one in blue cut in and pressed the dagger a bit further into his neck.

"What?! No!" The one in green said stopping her hand. "Your life isn't worth his!"

"If you do it, it'll be liking killing a peacock for the sake of a rat." The one in pink said.

The one in blue looked at the other two and looked away. "Fine." The boy smirked as she pulled away the dagger. Try to pull something funny and I'l-" Her body became limp and she passed out. The other two took no time in pointing their daggers at the boy.

"You have one minute." They both growled.

"Alright, alright, but now that she passed out she can't drink it herself." He said and began to unlock the locket. "I'll have to feed it to her." He said as held the antidote in his hand. The two girls exchanged glances but knew if they argued on this for too long it would be too late.

"Fine." They both said.

The boy smirked and drank the antidote making sure not to swallow it. Then he scooted a bit closer to the girl. He opened her mouth and pressed his lips to hers, letting her drink the antidote in that form. Then he sat up and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

"There." He said.

"Heh, good, now we can kill you." The two girls said in unison as one held a dagger to his neck and the other at his chest. Then suddenly an echo was heard, the echo of a piano.

"Tch, that's the signal." The one in pink said.

"We have a bit of time." The one in green said as she pressed the dagger into his chest, drawing a bit of blood.

"Next time." The on in pink said and made sure to strip him of weapons before she let go of her grip. "Let's go." She commanded as she picked up the one who passed out. They ran out to the ballroom and nodded off at those who were there. Then they ran up to the roof of the manor where helicopters were waiting for jumped into the helicopter and let the medics take the one that passed out. The ride back to headquarters was silent, mostly because everyone was working on their reports. Once they arrived at headquarters the one who passed out was taken to the infirmary while the other two went to report.

"Where's the third?" The man in the chair asked?

"She's in the infirmary, she was shot by a poison dart."

"However the mission was successful, and the data was retrieved." She pulled out a small chip and set on the desk before bowing and stepping back.

The man snorted. "A poison dart? How stupid." The two stayed silent. "Although she always was the idiot." The two clenched their fist. "Isn't that right, Isabelle, Shizune?"

"...Yes sir..." They both replied through clenched teeth.

"Good girls, now go see your mother and give her the chip."

"Yes father." They said. Shizune took the chip and they left the office. They walked in silence for a few moments.

"She's not an idiot." Isabelle growled.

"I know, I know." Shizune said. "It's not her fault."

"Then why? Why does father say those things?!"

Shizune kept her gaze forward and stayed silent for a few moments. "Because of the very fact that he is our father..."

Isabelle looked at her in surprise. "What?"

"He says that to us because he can. You don't hear him saying it to anyone else. If he did they'd probably run off or pick a fight with him. We can't because he's our father." Isabelle said as her fist tighten. "... but not for long." She said under her breath.

Isabelle looked back towards the floor. The rest of the way was walked in silence. They arrived to the research laboratory where their mother was most of the day.

"We've brought back the chip." Shizune said as they entered the woman's office.

"Ah! Wonderful." The woman said and held her hand out. Shizune put the chip in the woman's hand. "Thank you!" The woman was in a chair that rolled and rolled over to a computer and put the chip in. "I heard that Hira got hit by a poisoned dart, is this true?"

"Yes." Isabelle said.

The woman broke out in a laugh. "What an idiot." The woman began to laugh even more.

"If that is all, we'll be leaving." Shizune said and left the woman to herself. Once again the two girls walked in silence not saying a word to each other. They were headed towards the infirmary to check on their sister. When they arrived she was still asleep but in a stable condition. They were relieved and decided to stay the night there.

"Hey, Shizune." Isabelle said softly.

"Hm?" Shizune said and continued to look at the heart rate monitor.

"Do you think we'll ever be able to leave this place?"

"... maybe..."

"Whenever Hira wakes up, I promise all three of us will leave this place together."

Shizune chuckled lightly and looked over at Isabelle whose eyes were filled with determination.

"Yeah... we'll all leave this horrible place. We've been here since we were born." Shizune looked back at the heart rate monitor. "I think it's about time we get a break."

END FLASHBACK

"Did you guys ever leave?" Meyrin asked.

"We did, a few days later Hira woke up and we all sneaked out of the organization. "Of course every once in awhile people from them would come after us but we managed to take them down."

"Wow, it must have been tough." Meyrin said.

Isabelle sighed. "It was, we were only fifteen when we left but we managed to find jobs and get an apartment. A few years later the organization crumbled down and we never heard from them again. Eventually Hira left to start her own family with your father and Isabelle went overseas to start a research facility. I was left in Tokyo on my own but it was fine. I managed to get a job as a newspaper editor and even got around to publish a few novels. It was a nice life and the three of us always kept in contact. Every once in awhile we would all meetup for the holidays and celebrate together. Then one day in the middle of winter there was a knock at my door. I answered it and came to find an old couple. They were our parents. It had been years since I'd seen them and you would've thought that I would have been happy to see them but I wasn't. I didn't feel anything towards them, I never did. Nonetheless I let them into my apartment and let them stay there for a few days but I told them they couldn't stay forever. They tried to warm up to me but I could never accept them as my parents ever again. They finally came to the conclusion that I didn't love them any more and left the apartment saying that the other two would surely welcome them. They were wrong, they were even less welcoming than I was. They died and left a note to the three of us saying that they curse our families and children and the rest of our seed. It didn't bother me much then but as time passed I felt guilty for not helping them." She paused for a moment. "When they left they said one thing to me. 'I guess we were away too long and aren't counted as family anymore.' I still feel bad for not helping them but what can I say? I was young and held a grudge against them for what they did to us. They used us as tools to fight against other organizations and what not. What did they think we would do?"

Meyrin let all of this sink in. It revealed so much but so little at the same time. She wanted to know more but decided that it would wait for a later time. "I really don't know what to say. If I had known I wouldn't have said that. I'm really sorry."

"It's fine." Isabelle said with a shrug. "What's in the past is in the past." She stood up and stretched. "Well, if you don't mind I'm gonna go check on Hira and Shizune. It was nice talking to you Meyrin." She said with a smile.

"Yeah, we should do this again." Meyrin said returning her smile.

"Yeah." Isabelle said and left the dining room.


	20. The Secret Lab

Meyrin walked down the hallway with only one thing in mind. Finishing the phone call from that morning. She wanted to know Aiko's condition and how Kikyo was doing. She also wanted to talk to Takashi and hope that he wasn't terribly mad at her for making him stay behind. She looked ahead and noticed that a picture on the wall was crooked. It was a pastel painting of a valley and was a very good quality painting. She took it upon herself to fix it. However just after she moved it, the floor under her opened up and she fell into the ground. She let out a scream a she was submerged into the darkness. That was short lived. Soon she hit the ground and landed in an awkward position and fell over in her side.

"Ow." She groaned as she sat up and rubbed her head. "What happened?" She looked around and it looked like she was in some sort of control room. "What the..." She stood up and walked over to the computer screens. "What is all of this?" She looked at what was playing on the computer screens. Her eyes widen in realization. These cameras were monitoring what was happening outside but not just in the city but the entire world. Everyone few seconds the images would flicker to different locations across the globe. She slowly began take steps back until she ran into turned around and almost screamed at the sight. In a giant container filled a light green liquid was a dead, decompose, body. That wasn't was freaked her out the most though, it was the fact that there were several of this containers. She took a closer look at the containers and realized something. These all resembled the people she'd seen in the mansion, all of them. "Why? Why would something like this be here?" She thought as she began to look at each corpse. "Why would this be hidden down here?" She continued to look through the several different containers. She finally arrived at the very last one, her eyes widen in horror and she stumbled back. "That... it..." In that container was a corpse that resembled her.

"What's the status?" A voice asked as the hiss of a door opening was heard. Meyrin hid behind the container and slid down to the ground with her knees at her chest.

"So far everything is going as planned." Another voice said. "It won't be too long until our plan will kick into action."

"Good, good."

"If they find me here..." Meyrin thought as she tried to get a look at who the people were.

"And what about these?"

"These are developing well. In a day or so they'll be ready to be released."

"And once that happens no one will bother us."

Meyrin heard the footsteps come closer. She tensed up and sunk down towards the ground a bit more. Finally the footsteps stopped, they sounded a bit too close for Meyrin's comfort.

"Just wait... one day this will all be over..." The voice trailed off.

"Sir, they're calling us upstairs." The other voice said.

"Right." The footsteps headed in the opposite direction and the hissing of the door closing was heard. Meyrin waited for about a minute until she finally decided to emerge from her hiding spot.

"Who were those people and what were they talking about?" She thought as she looked around for the door that she heard close. "Were they going to release those things in the containers?" She thought as she searched the wall for any indication of a door. After she circled around the room she didn't find a trace of the door she heard. "What the hell? Where's the door? I heard it open and close but there's not one here." She walked over to the monitors and looked around for keyboards but there was nothing there, just the screens. Then she heard the hissing of the door open. Her eyes widen and she looked around her, she didn't see anyone but she heard their footsteps. There was nowhere for her to hide unless she wanted to make a run for the containers, in which she would most likely be heard and possibly found. She made a last minute decision and made a run for the containers.

"Is someone there?" A voice called. Meyrin didn't answer and made sure to stay hidden to the best of get abilities. "Hello?" The voice repeated once again. Meyrin peeked out from the side of the container. There was a man standing in front of the monitors but since his back was turned to her she couldn't see what he looked like. The man stood there for a moment before he reached in between the monitors and pulled out a keyboard from there. The man did this a few more times until there were five keyboards.

"So that's where the keyboards were." Meyrin thought as she watched the man insert a disk into one of the monitors and began to type madly. Meyrin watched closely as many different windows popped onto the monitor. Although she couldn't quite read was on the screen. A minute or so later the man stopped typing and everything shut down. The liquid within the containers began to drain and Meyrin sunk down a bit further. The man walked over towards the container and turned a dial located at the bottom of the container. Meyrin realized that the dial on the container she was hiding behind was located to her right. She looked at the man that was busying himself with a dial. She was trapped this time, no way out. She cursed under her breath many, many times. Every few moments she would hear his footsteps move closer and closer. Suddenly she heard the sound of the door hissing open.

"What? Did he leave? No, that's not possible his footsteps were only a few feet away." She thought but didn't move from her position. She heard the steps of hurried footsteps and a thud. A few seconds later she heard the clacking of heels on the floor.

"That's strange… I thought the keyboards were closed." A feminine voice stated. "Ah! That's where I left my glasses!" There was a brief silence before she heard the sound of typing, then a door hissed open, the same pair of heels was heard and after a few seconds the sound of the door hissed closed.

"So then they keyboard is what you use to open the door?" Meyrin thought to herself. She didn't move yet though, she knew there was that man from earlier who came in and then ran off somewhere. She knew he was still around there somewhere. She waited for a few moments then she heard footsteps.

She heard typing and a few seconds later the tanks began to fill up with the liquid. Then she heard the door hiss open and the keyboards click back into place.

"It can't be helped; I'll come back when no one else is awake." The voice said as they began to head towards the exit. The doors hissed closed and Meyrin sat there in silence, making sure that this time she was truly alone. After five minutes she emerged from her spot and headed to the monitors and took the keyboards out.

"Let's see there has to be something around here that opens that door." She looked at the keyboards but then realized that they weren't normal keyboards. She couldn't understand any of the letters/characters on them. "What the hell? What language is this?! No… it isn't a language, it can't be. Can it?" She looked at the different keyboards, no two keys were alike. She studied the keyboard closely, trying to figure out how to use it. "At this rate I'm sure to be trapped in here or be discovered. Well it's not like I was doing anything bad… I discovered this place by accident so-"

"What are you doing here?" A voice asked as a hand was put on Meyrin's shoulder. Meyrin spun around, her eyes wide with shock.

"S-shizune!" Meyrin said.

"How did you find this place?" Shizune asked. "And what are you doing?" She glanced back at the keyboards.

"O-oh well you see, there was a painting on the wall and it was crooked so I took it upon myself to fix it. When I did the floor opened up under me and I ended up here a-and well these keyboards were out so I-I tried to see if I could figure out where I was." Meyrin said.

Shizune looked at her suspiciously but believed her none the less. She reached behind Meyrin and pushed one of the keys on the keyboard and a door to their right opened.

"Let's go, your parents are getting worried, it's lunch time."

"Lunch time!? There's no way I've been here for that long!" Meyrin thought as she watched Shizune head towards the door.

"Come on." Shizune said.

"C-coming." Meyrin said and caught up to Shizune. They walked down a long, bare, hallway that eventually led to some stairs.

"Go on and head up stairs." Shizune said as she punched in a code to get the door open. "I'll be up there shortly."

"Alright." Meyrin said as the door opened.

"Also, you can't tell anyone about you being down here." Shizune said with her back turned to Meyrin.

"H-huh? Why?" Meyrin asked.

"It would cause a problem for everyone." With that the door closed and Meyrin stood there with a blank expression on her face.

"Problem? Why? I didn't do anything." Meyrin thought. "Is it because of what was inside of those containers? Is it a problem because I saw them?" Meyrin shook her head and started up the stairs. "I'll have to figure this out later and what was up with that keyboard? And those things inside the containers… why did one of those look like me? What the hell is going on here?" She thought as she continued up the spiraling stairs. She pondered on this until she was out of the stair well and back into the hallways of the mansion.

"There you are. Your parents have been driving me crazy, just where the hell were you?" Haruto said as he ran into Meyrin.

"Oh, I was wandering around the halls trying to avoid you." Meyrin said casually.

"How cruel." Haruto said with a sigh. "Anyway come on lunch is ready."

"Yeah, I know, just give me a second I want to go up to my room for a second." Meyrin said as she turned on her heels, remembering that she had to finish the phone call.

"Ah, no you don't." Haruto said as he grabbed her wrist. "If I don't bring you to the dining room your parents will have my skin."

"More the reason for me to go up to my room." Meyrin said with a smirk.

"Aha, very funny, let's go." Haruto said and literally dragged her down the hallway to the dining room.

"You're an ass you know that?" Meyrin growled.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say princess." He replied as he came into the dining room. "I found her." He announced.

"Ah, thank goodness, we were starting to worry a bit." Hira said relieved.

Isabelle nodded her head. "Had you been gone another minute and we would've sent out a squad to find you."

"A bit over exaggerated don't you think?" Meyrin thought to herself.

"Where did you run off to?" Shino asked.

"Nowhere in particular, I was just playing a little game of hide and seek with Haruto." Meyrin said with a shrug. "I won."

"Yeah right." Haruto said and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I still got to work so if you don't mind I'll go ahead and leave you guys."

"Actually, why don't you stay and join us for lunch?" Hira asked kindly. "There is something we would like to speak to the both of about."

Meyrin exchanged confused glances with Haruto.

"Take a seat." Shino said motioning to the two chairs across from the three adults. "Shizune will be here shortly so in the meanwhile sit."

The two took their respective seats and waited in silence.

"Shizune, she was heading down towards that secret lab or whatever that place was." Meyrin thought as she glanced at the door. "I need to go back and figure out what that all is."

"So, uh, what exactly are you guys gonna tell us?" Haruto asked as he ran a hand through his hair. "I have a lot of work piled up that I really need to get done."

"Don't worry, that is being taken care of." Shino said.

"What a miracle." Haruto said and leaned back in his chair. "I'm the one that usually has to take care of everyone else's unfinished work."

"That's right..." Shizune said as she walked into the dining room. but now you won't have to worry about that anymore."

"Huh? Why not?" Haruto asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well this sounds more like something to do with him." Meyrin said as she stood up. "I think I'll just go."

"No, this has to do with you too." Shizune said as she sat down. Meyrin nodded her head and sat back down. "Haruto, as we all know you're leading the research for those that are not located here in the mansion."

"Everyone except for me." Meyrin thought.

"You are a well-rounded man and are very capable, with great potential as well." Shizune said and paused for a moment.

"Yeah, yeah, I know I'm great and all. Now, tell me, what's the downside to all these compliments?" Haruto said in an annoyed tone of voice.

"There is no downside." Shino said firmly. "Because of how well educated and well-rounded you are, we have decided that you are the only man that is fit to marry our daughter."

"What?!" Meyrin practically yelled as she stood up.

Haruto burst out into laughter and almost fell out his chair. "What a turn of events, don't ya think?" He said as he continued to laugh.

"You can't do that! You can't let this thing be my husband!" Meyrin said ignoring his comment. "And why the hell are you laughing? This isn't funny!"

"Meyrin calm down." Shino said sending her a stern look.

"Calm down? Hell to the no! I'm not going to marry him!" Meyrin said and pointed at Haruto. "You're so called 'well-rounded man' almost raped me at one point! There's no way I'm going to marry someone like that! Besides I already…" Meyrin stopped, realizing that if she had continued she would have been in a whole lot of trouble.

"You already what?" Shino challenged.

"Nothing." Meyrin scowled and looked off to her side. "Either way I'm not going to marry someone that wanted to rape me!"

Everyone turned their attention to Haruto, who had stopped laughing when Meyrin brought up the whole 'rape' thing.

"Is this true?" Hira demanded.

"Yeah, I guess." He said with a shrug.

"You guess? What exactly does that mean?" Isabelle asked as she leaned in a bit closer.

"Yes." Haruto said not making eye contact with anyone.

"Hmph, well so much for that plan." Shizune said and crossed her arms over her chest. "What a waste of time."

"I'm leaving. I'm done with this." Meyrin said as she walked towards the door.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Hira asked a bit worriedly.

"I lost my appetite." She said as she left the dining room. Meyrin headed upstairs to her room and burned off some steam as she did. She never thought that her parents would actually want to marry her off and to a guy like him. Not only that, she almost said something she wasn't supposed to, or at least not yet. If her parents found out about the relationship between herself and Takashi, then she'd surely be locked in her room for the rest of her life. She sighed as she entered her room and locked the door behind her. She walked over to the phone and dialed the number. After the second ring someone picked up.

"Meyrin?" Saeko said.

"Saeko, sorry about earlier." Meyrin apologized as she sat on the bed.

"It's fine but there's trouble." Saeko said grimly.

"What do you mean?"

"Aiko is gone."

"What?!" Meyrin said and sprang back up to her feet. "What do you mean gone?!"

"I don't know. She managed to disappear while we were distracted."

"Did she leave a note of any kind?" Meyrin asked as she began to pace around the room.

"No, there's no trace of her. She's disappeared."

"Did you search everywhere with in the house?"

"We left no stone unturned."

"What about Kikyo?"

"She's safe."

"And everyone else?"

"They're fine as well but I have a bad feeling about staying here for much longer."

"Why?"

"I don't know, there's just a feeling that something is going to happen."

Meyrin pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'll see if I can send some people over to get you guys out of there. Although, I'm not too sure about this place either."

"Did you find something out?"

"Yeah, there's a hidden lab underneath this place and there are a few containers with corpses that resemble those that work here… and there's one that resembles me."

"You?"

"Yeah, the details are still sketchy but I'm planning on going back down there tonight. So if anything happens, I'll head back to you guys. If it was just a misunderstanding then I'll send someone to get you guys. It might take a while though; I can't come up with a conclusion within a day."

"I understand but I doubt this is a misunderstanding. There's a corpse that resembles your own in a container, in a hidden lab. Just saying something like that is odd."

"I know, I know, but there was a lot of weird stuff going on down there and a few things that I overheard too. Then afterwards my parents wanted to marry me off to some guy."

"What?!"

"I know but I refused and brought up a point that destroyed all his chances of ever coming near me again." Meyrin said with a smirk.

Saeko sighed in relief. "Ah, well that's good."

"Yeah, anyway we'll keep in contact, okay?"

"Alright, good bye."

"Bye."

That night Meyrin went back into that secret lab but found no success to finding out how to use the keyboard or getting information. She was done there for a good few hours or so but that man never came. The one that said they would come back when no one else was around. She found it strange but she couldn't do much at the moment. She had to find out what all of this was first. Just what exactly was going down in this mansion?


	21. Pudding

_**One month later…**_

"Okay! This time I'm really going to win and you won't have a choice but to marry me!" Haruto yelled as he began to bounce a bit.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what you've been saying for the past month." Meyrin said as she assumed her stance. "And each time you've lost." She said with a smirk. "What makes you think you'll win this time?"

"Just wait! You'll see how great I am!" He said.

"Alright, let's just get this over with." She said and popped her neck. There were a few moments of silence before they were both charging at each other. It was the usual friendly sparring match they had every other day. The outcome was always the same though.

"My, he's gotten better." Shizune said as she took a sip of her tea.

"Hm?" Isabelle said as she looked over towards the two who were fighting. "Indeed he has."

"But he's still not as strong as Meyrin." Hira said and leaned back in her chair a bit.

"I doubt he ever will be." Shino said as he glanced back at the match.

Hira nodded her head. "After all, if Meyrin loses one of these matches then she'll have no choice but to marry him."

"And that's the last thing she wants." Shizune said.

Isabelle and Hira giggled.

"Shino! Hira!" Haruto yelled catching the adults' attention. "There's something with Meyrin!"

The four of them jumped out their seats and ran over to Meyrin and Haruto. Meyrin was on the ground in an unconscious state.

"What happened?" Hira asked as she kneeled down beside Meyrin.

"I don't know, we were fighting and all the sudden she just collapsed." Haruto said.

"So help me, if you did anything to her…" Shino growled.

"I didn't! I didn't! She just suddenly collapsed." Haruto said.

"She's breathing but she's lost all color." Isabelle said.

"And her body temperature has dropped dramatically." Shizune said. "Let's get her inside."

Shino picked her up and they headed inside as quickly as possible. They took her into one of the closer rooms on the first floor. Isabelle, Hira, and Shizune told Haruto and Shino to wait in the hall while they worked on diagnosing the young woman. Shino paced up and down the hallway endlessly and Haruto was starting to doubt himself.

"Is this really my fault?" Haruto thought to himself. "No, it can't be… I didn't even land a hit on her. So I couldn't have done it… but what if she was really tired and I practically forced her to come out there." He looked up at Shino who was still pacing the floor. It seemed like hours had passed but in reality, it had only been five minutes when Hira had walked out.

"Well, how is she?" Shino asked in a panicked voice.

"Well, a few seconds ago she jumped out of the bed and ran to the bathroom." Hira said.

"The bathroom?" Haruto and Shino asked.

"Yes, she threw up." Hira said. "She might have caught a stomach virus."

"What type of stomach virus causes you to pass out?" Haruto asked.

"Well, that all depends on who you are and the virus itself but that's something to discuss on another day." Hira said.

Shizune walked out the room and closed the door behind her. "She stopped but she's still pale and she says that she's feeling dizzy."

"Hm, it must have been something she ate this morning." Hira said.

"But she didn't eat breakfast." Shino said.

"Then it's because she didn't eat breakfast." Shizune said. "She needs to eat more; lately she's been eating less."

"Haruto, go get fetch a fruit from the kitchen." Shino ordered.

"Yes sir." Haruto said and turned on his heels and headed down the hallway.

The three adults stood in silence until Isabelle walked out. "She wants to eat."

"Eat? Didn't she just throw up?" Shino asked.

'Exactly, she just emptied out her stomach. It's only natural that she wants to eat." Isabelle said.

"Hm, well we sent Haruto to get a fruit of some kind." Hira said.

"She's gonna need a whole lot more than a fruit." Isabelle said and started down the hallway. "I'll make something. In the meanwhile, you guys keep her company."

They did as they were told and went inside the room where Meyrin was now sitting on the edge of the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Shino asked as he walked over to her and took her hand. "Her hand is cold and she's still pale." He thought to himself.

"Better, I'm hungry and still feel a bit dizzy, but better." Meyrin said with a weak smile.

"Isabelle went to make you something to eat." Hira said kindly and sat down beside Meyrin. "It'll be here in a few minutes."

"Ah, that's good." Meyrin said. "Uhm, I'm sorry for my rudeness but could you guys please leave me alone for a few minutes?" She said as kindly as she could. "It's just…"

"We understand." Shizune said. "We'll let you rest until your food comes."

"Would you like to move up to your room?" Hira asked.

"Yes, but I can get up there myself." Meyrin said as she stood up.

"No, no, we'll help you up there." Shino insited as he looked down at his daughter.

Shizune nodded her head. "We don't want you falling down the stairs."

Meyrin sighed in defeat. "Okay."

They allowed Meyrin to walk on her own but they stood close by just in case she would pass out again. When they arrived at the bottom of the stairs both Hira and Shino linked arms with Meyrin and Shizune stayed directly behind Meyrin.

"Do we have any chocolate?" Meyrin asked.

"Chocolate?" Shino repeated.

"Yeah, I really want some chocolate." She said sheepishly.

Shino and Hira exchanged looks.

"I believe so." Shizune said. "I'll go check." With that she went back down the stairs.

"Thank you." Meyrin said.

"No problem." Shizune said as she reached the bottom step.

Meyrin and her parents continued up the stairs and to her room. When they got there they made sure that she didn't need anything else before they left. Once they were out Meyrin sat on her bed and listened to their footsteps fade away. After a few seconds she stood up and walked over to the door. She stood in front of the door for a second before she locked it. She reached into her pocket as she walked over to the nightstand beside her bed. She pulled out a small earpiece and a chord. She took the phone from the nightstand and connected one end to the chord to the phone and the other to the earpiece. Then she dialed a number and put the earpiece into her ear. It rang twice before someone answered.

"Hello?"

"Pass the phone Saeko." Meyrin demanded.

"Yes ma'am." The voice responded. There was a bit of rustling on the other side.

"Meyrin?" Saeko said.

"Saeko, sorry for calling you later than usual." Meyrin apologized. "I got a little sick this morning."

"Sick? What happened?" Saeko asked.

"Sick?" Takashi said in the background.

"What about sick?" Kohota asked.

"Is she okay?" Saya asked.

"We were starting worry…" Rei said.

"Put it on speaker!" Shizuka said.

"Tell her I said hi! And Kikyo says hi too!" Alice said.

"… Oh dear… maybe I shouldn't have said that…" Meyrin thought to herself.

"Guys calm down." Saeko said. "I'll put her on speaker phone."

There was a bit of silence on Saeko's side of the phone.

"… are you guys still alive?" Meyrin asked.

"Of course we are! It's you we're worried about!" Saya said.

"Aha… it's nothing serious." Meyrin said. "I just passed out…"

"What?!" Everyone said in unison

"… I'm not very good at this…" Meyrin thought.

"No, I mean… Uhm… It wasn't a big deal. I was only out for about three minutes and after that I just threw up and felt a bit dizzy although now I have a craving for chocolate. I really want some chocolate now… Hm…" Meyrin trailed off.

There was another bit of silence.

"Are you pregnant?" Saeko asked.

"W-what?!" Meyrin practically yelled. She then slapped her hands over her mouth, noticing how loud she was speaking.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." Saeko said with a giggle.

Meyrin could hear the others in the background laughing.

"Whatever, besides it's not like I've had se…" Meyrin stopped.

"… that time… in that warehouse…" She thought back. She felt the heat rise to her checks and her stomach did a 360. "No… I can't be… but that time of the month hasn't passed by and the month is almost over with…"

"Saeko…" Meyrin said interrupting the laughter on the other side.

"Hm?" Saeko said.

"Take the phone off speaker and give it to Takashi." She demanded.

"Huh? Why?" Saeko asked.

"Just do it." Meyrin said.

Saeko did as she was told and handed the phone to Takashi.

"What is it?" Takashi asked.

"Can the others hear you?" Meyrin asked.

"Yeah, why?" He asked.

"Go somewhere where they can't." She said.

"What?" He asked.

"Do it." She demanded.

"…Alright." He said.

After a few seconds Meyrin heard a door close on his side of the call.

"Okay." He said.

"I think Saeko might be onto something." She admitted.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I think... I think... I really might be ..." She trailed off.

"W-wait... you don't mean..." He stammered.

Meyrin didn't respond and lightly bit her lip.

"If that's really the case then... what am I going to do? If my parents... if anyone finds out ..." She looked down at her stomach and put her hand over it.

"What are we going to do?" She asked softly.

"What do you mean 'what are we going to do?' Isn't it obvious?" Takashi said. "We're going to take care of our kid!"

Meyrin smiled and looked down at her stomach. "Yeah... "

"But there's still the slight chance that this is just a false alarm..."

Knock Knock

Meyrin looked at the door. "Who's there?" She asked.

"It's me."

"Haruto... "

"Meyrin?" Takashi said.

"I'll have to call you back." Meyrin whispered. There was another knock at the door. "I'm coming!" Meyrin said and looked over her shoulder. "Bye." She said and hung up the phone. She stuffed the earpiece and chord back into her pocket and the phone back on the nightstand.

"Are you okay in there?" Haruto asked as he tried to open the door.

"I'm fine!" She said and hurried over to the door. "Its just a little difficult to move." She said as she unlocked the door.

"Oh... sorry." Haruto said apologetically.

"It's fine." Meyrin said. "Anyway, come in... I guess." Meyrin said and moved out the way so Haruto could come in.

"Thanks." Haruto said as he entered her room.

"So what do you need?" Meyrin asked as sat down on her bed.

"Nothing, I just wanted to check up on you." Haruto said with a shrug. "...You really scared us out there..."

"Don't tell me you were worried about me?" Meyrin said with a smirk.

"O-of course I was! I'd be killed if I just stood there!" Haruto growled.

Meyrin chuckled. "Yes, yes, I understand."

Haruto turned away as he mumbled under his breath and became flustered.

Meyrin stood up and walked over to Haruto. "Thanks for worrying about me." She said and ruffled his hair.

Haruto looked at her in surprise.

"You're a good kid." She said with a smile plastered on her face.

"I'm older than you!" Haruto said.

"You sure don't act like it." Meyrin said under her breath and stopped messing with his hair.

"What?" Haruto challenged.

"Oh, nothing." Meyrin chimed.

There was another knock at the door.

"Come in." Meyrin said.

"Meyrin, I brought you something to eat." Isabelle said as she brought in a covered platter.

"... was the platter necessary?" Haruto asked.

"Of course! My niece deserves the best and best only!" Isabelle said cheerfully.

"You didn't have to go through such trouble..." Meyrin said.

"Nonsense!" Isabelle said and opened up the platter to reveal a bowl of chocolate pudding.

"... pudding?" Haruto asked.

Meyrin looked at the bowl then at Isabelle. "Right now... I love you the most auntie."

Isabelle smiled triumphantly. Meyrin happily started to eat the pudding like there was no tomorrow. After she was done she thanked Isabelle over a thousand times.

"Ah, no, it was really nothing." Isabelle said.

"But it really means alot to me and it was delicious!" Meyrin said.

"Ahaha, well… if you put it that way…" Isabelle trailed off. "Ah, but on a serious note, are you feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you." Meyrin said.

"Ah, that's a relief, although I heard you weren't eating well." Isabelle said.

"Oh… yeah… I've just been feeling sick lately but I never thought it would end up with me passing out."

"Well, if you don't eat well then that's all that can be expected."

Meyrin sighed. "Yeah… I'll start eating better."

"Well, I'll leave you to rest, Haruto you're coming with me too." Isabelle said as she took the platter.

"I know, I know." Haruto said.

"Well, see you around." Isabelle said and left the room with Haruto right behind her.

Meyrin waited a bit before she locked the door and returned to her previous business. She hooked the phone up to the earpiece and waited for someone to answer.

"Meyrin?" Saeko asked.

"Sorry for having to call you again." Meyrin apologized.

"It's fine." Saeko said.

"Anyway, how is everything going?" Meyrin asked as she looked out her window.

"Everything is fine. Ever since we were moved to this new house, everything has gone smoothly."

"Ah, that's good." Meyrin said and watched the guards.

"Have you found out any more information?"

"Not really…" Meyrin said and turned away from the window. "Although, when I tried to get back in the door was sealed off. I suppose they found out that someone was using it. I'll have to find another way to get in."

"I see… so what are you going to do then?"

"Figure out what their true aim is. Every time I think I found a lead it just disappears. They might be on to me." Meyrin said with a sigh.

"Which is why you moved us and started using that ear piece."

"Yes, but from here on out we'll have to take even more measures to make sure we aren't discovered."

"Meyrin… I think there's something else that we aren't seeing or rather we're ignoring."

"What do you mean?" Meyrin said as she sat down on the edge of her bed.

"This whole time you've been ruling out those who aren't involved."

"Yeah, and?"

"The first ones you rules out were your family members."

"So?"

"We're running out of suspects and they're the only ones left."

"My family would never do something like this! They're not that type of people."

"Yes, but even yet, you're going through all this trouble to make sure no one listens in on our calls but how would your family not notice a laboratory hidden within their own mansion? I understand that it's a big place and all but even yet. Not only that but when you first told me about this place you said that your aunt was down there as well." Saeko said. "If that's true then they must know about it.

Meyrin stared at the wall trying to find a reason that her aunt would be down there without making her look suspicious but there wasn't one.

"… it's not possible… could they have been behind this the whole time? But… but why would they do this? They wouldn't do this of their own will… They were forced to! Yes, that's gotta be it!" Meyrin looked down at the floor. "… right?"

"Meyrin?" Saeko said once more.

"Huh?" Meyrin said and returned her attention to the call.

"I know it might be hard to believe but soon they'll be the only ones left."

"… I know."


	22. Kidnapped

Meyrin paced back and forth in her room. She was trying to push the doubts in her mind away but Saeko's word still echoed in her head. Meyrin sighed and sat on the edge of her bed.

"There's no way possible." She thought and buried her head in her hands. "They wouldn't do such a thing… would they?" Suddenly she heard the sound of glass breaking and smoke escaping from a pressurized container.

"What the…!?" She yelled as she stood up. Her window was broken and on the ground was some sort of smoke bomb. Her eyes widen and the bomb exploded but it also had a strange smell to it. She covered her nose and mouth with the sleeve of her shirt. "What the hell is going on?!" She thought as she made her way to the door but remembered that she had locked it. She had begun to unlock it when she felt a sharp pain in her neck. Her vision became blurry and her legs gave out on her. "S-shit." She thought as everything faded to black.

Through the window a man with a mask came in and spotted Meyrin's body collapsed near the door. He picked her up and swung her over his shoulder then went right back out the window where two people were waiting for him.

"Let's go." The woman with a mask covering her face said. The other two nodded and they ran down the driveway where a black van was waiting for them. They jumped in and drove away.

"Are you sure the Akashi own this place." The man asked as he took off his mask. "It was too easy to break in."

"It's because my buddy here was working there undercover." The woman said as she threw her arm around the man who was sitting next to her. "He knew all the codes and set it up so no one would be anywhere near her room when we attacked and besides I know this is their daughter." She said and pointed at Meyrin's body that was lying on the floor.

"Yeah, yeah, just make sure you keep your promise and don't hurt her." The man said as he pulled her arm off himself.

"Yes, yes, my love." She said and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Or don't tell me you actually care for her." She teased.

"Whatever." He said and looked out the tinted windows of the van.

Shizune, Hira, and Isabelle were sitting in Shino's office, each trying to find something to kill the time. They were called a few minutes ago to discuss a few things but they weren't told what. Isabelle sighed and ran her finger across the mahogany table in the center of the room.

"Just what are we doing here?" She asked.

"Who knows?" Shizune shrugged as she looked through the bookshelf for anything that might catch her eye.

"Don't worry it probably won't take long." Hira said as she sunk into the chair she was sitting in. A silence fell upon the sisters once again as they busied themselves with whatever they could find.

"Hey, did you guys hear that?" Shizune asked as she looked over towards the door.

"Hear what?" Isabelle asked.

"I don't know but I heard something… wait, sshhhh." Shizune said and rushed towards the door. "Something isn't right." She said and went out into the hallway.

"Wait, Shizune." Hira said as she followed her.

"What exactly did you hear?" Isabelle asked as she followed them.

"I don't know but I have a bad feeling about it." Shizune said as she began to jog down the hallway. "It came from upstairs, come on." Isabelle and Hira exchanged looks but followed Shizune regardless. They went up the main staircase and started to hear the sound gas escaping. They began sprinting up the stairs and down the hall until they noticed smoke escaping from out of a room.

"That's Meyrin's room!" Hira said as they stopped in front of the door. Shizune tried to open the door but realized that it was locked.

"It's locked." Shizune said as she let go of the door knob.

"Meyrin, are you okay? What's going on?" Hira said as she knocked on the door, almost banging it. When they didn't hear a response the banged on the door.

"Move out the way." Isabelle ordered. Hira and Shizune did as they were told and moved from the door. Isabelle kicked the door in the dead center and the door split right down the middle. The three women used their sleeves to cover their noses and mouths as they went inside the room.

"The window is broken." Shizune said as she looked out the window.

"Meyrin isn't here!" Hira said in a panicked voice.

"Isabelle, go get Shino."Shizune ordered as the smoke started to clear. Isabelle nodded and darted down the hallway as fast as she could. "Come on, Hira, let's go out into the hallway." Shizune said as she turned to Hira, who was on the verge of tears. They walked out the room and Shizune tried to convince Hira that Meyrin was still somewhere inside the mansion.

"What happened?" Shino asked as he and Isabelle stopped in front of Shizune and Hira.

"Someone broke into Meyrin's room." Shizune said and motioned towards the room.

"Where's Meyrin?" He asked as he walked into the room and looked around.

"They took her!" Hira cried out.

"Hira, calm down, we don't know that yet." Shizune said. "We don't even know if she was in the room."

"Well then where is she?!" Hira asked. "Just when she finally returned… they took her!"

"You don't mean…" Isabelle mumbled.

"The White Samurai have found us…" Shino said as he looked out the broken window.

"Impossible." Shizune said as she looked towards Shino. "We took out the last of them."

"Apparently not." Shino said and turned around with a slip of paper between his fingers.

"What's that?" She asked.

"They left a gift." He said and turned the paper to show a Narcissus.

"Could they be fakes?" Isabelle asked.

"It's a possibility but we have to find out what it is they want and how they know about Meyrin." Shino said as he walked out the room. "One of the primary reasons she was sent overseas was to keep her away from this sort of danger."

"What about the project?" Isabelle asked.

"It'll have to wait after we get Meyrin back." He said. "It would be pointless to launch it and her not be here." He said and put a hand on Hira's shoulder. "We'll get her back, I promise."

Hira buried herself into her husband's chest and cried.

Meyrin's head pulsed as her eyes opened.

"What happened?" She said softly as she blinked a couple times. She was in a bed but it wasn't hers. She jolted up and realized she hand handcuffs around her wrist. She looked around the room. The walls were a maroon color and the floor was concrete. A small drawer stood in the corner and a lamp sat on the drawer. "What is this place?" She thought as she stood up. She looked around for a door but found none. She thought back to the last thing that happened. "… I was kidnapped but by who and why?" She noticed that there wasn't a window or a closet in the room. "What could they gain in this situation? Especially in the midst of all this chaos." She sat back down on the bed and continued to think about her situation and what she could do to get out of it. After a few minutes she heard a door open from above. She looked up and put her hand over her eyes to shade them from the light.

"Well, well, looks like our little princess is awake now." A female voice said.

"Who are you?" Meyrin demanded.

"Hm? Now, I don't think you're in the position to be asking questions." The voice snickered.

Meyrin glared at the figure. "Just wait, I'll make sure your deaths are painful."

The figure laughed. "Our deaths? Ha! I'd be more focused on your death!"

"Tch, you won't kill me." Meyrin said.

"We won't?"

"If you really wanted me dead you could have done it when you broke into my room. The fact that I'm still alive means that there's something you want from me."

"From you? No, this is just a favor we're going to return." The voice said and dropped something onto the floor a few feet away from Meyrin. "Enjoy your dinner." They said and closed the door, leaving Meyrin alone. Meyrin looked at the scattered food on the ground and scowled. "They're looking down on me!" She thought as she turned away from the food. "As if I'd ever let anyone look down on me!" She thought as her jaw clenched.

"Have we gotten anything?" Shino asked as he came into his office.

"Nothing." Shizune said with a sigh.

"Every camera in the area was conveniently pointed away." Isabelle said.

"They had someone on the inside." Shizune said. "It's the only way they could have gotten the codes to get through the gate and change the positioning of the cameras."

"Someone on the inside…" Shino said as he closed the door. "That means they could still be here."

"Yes." Shizune said. There was a silence as Shino let all that sink in.

"And Hira? How is she?" Isabelle asked.

"She's fallen asleep." Shino said.

RIIINNNGGG

The office phone started to ring. The three of them exchanged glances, they nodded to each other and Shino picked up the phone. He put it on speaker and clicked a button on the back of the phone which would record the call. No one should have knowledge of their phone number or of their presence in the manor. As far as everyone is concerned, they were killed.

"Hm, not going to say hello?" The voice on the other side asked. Shino didn't reply. There was a sigh from the other side of the line. "You haven't changed at all have you Shino?"

"Who are you?" Shino asked calmly.

"Well, I can't tell you that just yet." The voice chuckled. "I have a little riddle for your wife."

"She's not available at the time." Shino said as he put the phone on the table and sat down across from it. "You can leave a message."

"Fine, but you can't have those other two with you." The voice chimed. The three exchanged shocked glances, all asking the same question. How did they know?

"Come on, come on, we don't have all day." The voice said impatiently.

Shino nodded to the two and they nodded back. Their mission was now to find who was hacking into the system and getting a hold of the cameras. They left and left Shino in the office.

"They left." Shino said.

"I know, now are you ready for my riddle?"

"I'm listening."

"Over the hills in a place where the ground is white and the trees are ice there lies a bird locked a cage. Day and night it sings its song of woe for it was stolen from its nest. A pack of wolves surround the bird and they wait for the hour for when the moon is full, that is when the bird will be eaten. Will you come to rescue this bird or will you leave it for the wolves?"

Takashi sighed as he looked out the window of their temporary living arrangement. They were only recently moved there. It was within the city but on the opposite side of the city from the mansion. The phone call from earlier was still on his mind and didn't show any signs of going away any time soon. The thought of him being a father hadn't really crossed his mind until that phone call. What was he to do? A knock on his door snapped him out of his thoughts and back to reality.

"It's open." Takashi said.

Kohota entered the room. "Hey, we're going to start grilling! Come on!"

"I'm not hungry, I'll just stay here." Takashi said as he continued to look out the window. There wasn't much to see since there was a brick wall around the house.

"What? You were complaining about having to wait since the day before yesterday and now you're not hungry?" Kohota said as he sat down beside Takashi. During the one month span of time he managed to lose a bit of weight but he wasn't quite there yet. He also became a bit more mature. "What's bothering you?"

"It's nothing." Takashi said with a shrug.

"If it was nothing then you'd be your usual self. Come on buddy, you can tell me anything." Kohota said and elbowed Takashi in the side.

"Alright, but this stays between us, got it?"

"Got it, man to man, bro to bro." Kohota said with a nod.

Takashi took in a deep breath. "IthinkImightbecomeadad." He said.

"… Okay, say that once more but this time in Japanese." Kohota said.

"I think I might become a dad." Takashi mumbled.

"See that wasn't… Wait, what?" Kohota said as he looked at his friend with wide eyes. "With who? Don't tell me you cheated on Meyrin!"

"No! I would never do that." Takashi said defensively.

"So then…?"

"You remember earlier when Meyrin said she wanted to talk to me alone?"

"Yeah."

"That's when she said that it might be a possibility."

"Whoa, whoa… when did this happen?"

"About a month ago."

"And you didn't tell us?!"

"I didn't think it was something that you guys wanted to know." Takashi said with a shrug.

"Kohota! Takashi!" Alice said as she burst into the room. "Come on, we're getting tired of waiting." She whined as she pulled on their arms.

"Alright, alright, we're coming." Takashi said as he stood up.

"Food!" Kohota chimed as they headed out the room.

"The call came from Russia." Isabelle said as she leaned against the wall.

"Russia… then it is them." Shizune said.

"The White Samurai really did find us." Hira said with a sigh. "And they took her as a hostage… what exactly do they want from us?"

"Revenge." Shino said.

"But it's been several years since then." Isabelle said.

"Hatred never goes away." Shizune said with a sigh.

"Also there was one more thing I found while I was tracing the call." Isabelle said. "There were several calls made from here to a summer house not too far from here then from here to a house across town."

"What phone was used?" Shino asked.

"The one located in Meyrin's room, whoever did it took a lot of precautions and made sure that no one could hear the call or locate it unless they were specifically were looking for it. I accidently ran across it thinking that it would give me some leads."

"I see…" Shino said.

"Who could Meyrin be calling?" Hira asked.

"But can we be sure that it was Meyrin?" Shizune asked.

"Would someone go into her room to frame her?" Isabelle asked.

"I think the better question would be if she would even let someone into her room." Shino said. "We all know how she hates having others in her room. She rarely comes out of there."

"So can we safely assume that Meyrin made the calls?" Hira asked.

"Not necessarily but we can go visit those who received the call." Shino said. "You said the last call was to a house across town, correct?"

"Yes." Isabelle said.

"I see, we'll go pay them a visit." Shino said as he exited the room. "We'll use the tunnels that run underground. One of us will stay here and continue investigating."

"I'll stay here." Isabelle said.

Shino nodded. "Shizune, Hira, be ready in thirty minutes. We'll exit the mansion by the opening in the back and go from there. It'll be a good chance to test out weapons as wells so if you want to bring those along, be my guest."

"Hm, that'll be fun." Shizune said with a sly smirk. "I do have a few weapons I've been dying to try out."


	23. Chapter 23

Meyrin sighed as she stared at the wall in front of her. She was utterly bored out her mind. There was absolutely nothing for her to do except sleep. She couldn't even keep track of time. It could've been an hour or maybe even days since she's been locked up but she wouldn't know. The worst part of it all though was the nausea that she would get every once in a while. She put a hand over her stomach and lightly bit her lip. She was really starting to worry about this whole 'I might be possibly pregnant' thing. With all the time she had that's the only thing she could think of. What worried her the most was her parents. What was she supposed to tell them? How was she going to tell them? 'Oh, mom, dad… I'm pregnant and Takashi is the father.' That'd probably grant her a death wish along with Takashi. They'll be infuriated. She plopped down on the bed face first.

"I'm so screwed." She mumbled into the pillow. She almost wished that she would be here forever.

"Knock, knock, princess." A voice said as the door opened. Meyrin grunted, taking back that wish. "What's wrong? Not happy to see me?"

Meyrin sat up and glared at the masked person. "What did you expect?" She growled.

The person sighed as they jumped down and swiftly landed on the floor. "You could have at least smiled." They whined.

"Ha, as if I'd ever smile at the people who kidnapped me." Meyrin scowled.

"Now, now, don't be like that." The person said as they walked towards Meyrin.

"Don't come near me." She growled.

"How cruel." They said with a sigh. Something clicked in Meyrin's head and she analyzed the person in front of her. That voice sounded strangely familiar.

"Do I know you?" She asked.

The person stood frozen for a moment then chuckled. "You're such a sharp person." They said.

"Who are you?" Meyrin demanded as she stood up.

"Sorry, but that's something that I can't tell you." They chimed.

"Fine, then I'll find out myself." Meyrin said and tackled them down. She was serious about this, knowing this person's identity could reveal everything. The person didn't think twice before kicking Meyrin off of them. Meyrin rolled to her feet as so did the other person. They circled around each other and Meyrin noticed that they were taking something out of their pocket. Meyrin was about to tackle them back but then they pulled out a hand gun. Honestly, Meyrin thought they were going to pull out a knife; it didn't seem like that big of a pocket.

"If you wanna play rough, I'll give you rough." The person sneered.

Meyrin smirked slightly. "Heh, don't think a gun can stop me."

"I don't think, I know." He said as he pulled the safety off the gun.

"You won't kill me." Meyrin said.

"I won't, I'll just blow that knee cap off."

"Then do it." Meyrin said as she put her left leg in front of her right.

"You're a cocky little bitch." They said and slightly lowered their guard.

"And proud." Meyrin said and took this chance to kick the gun out of the person's hand. The gun fired at the ceiling but no one was hurt. Meyrin grabbed the gun before he could and pointed it at them. "Now, how about you take that mask off." She said motioning to the mask on their face. They growled under their breath but reached for their mask nonetheless.

"Oops~ Looks like our little princess has done some naughty things." A voice from behind Meyrin chimed. Meyrin felt a sharp pain in her neck and already knew what had happened. They had gotten her with a dart, again. Meyrin passed out on the floor a few seconds later.

"Thanks." The man said as he retrieved his gun.

"You better be careful, she's trouble." The woman said as she dragged Meyrin back onto the bed.

"You could have asked me to carry her." The man said with a slightly angered tone.

"Why? Once we get what we want she'll be dead anyway."

The man glanced at Meyrin before turning away. "Whatever."

The woman giggled. "Come on." She said as a rope came down from the door above them. "They've finally started to move."

The three adults stood before a pair of metal doors, leading to the underground system of the city that only a few households knew of. However, given the situation they were in, probably only two could use the underground system.

"Is everyone ready?" Shino asked as he glanced at Hira and Shiznue.

"We were born ready." Shizune said with a smirk playing at her lips.

Hira nodded her head as a smile appeared on her face. "It's been awhile since I've been this excited."

"I'm sure that goes for all of us." Shino said as the doors opened. "Shall we?" He asked. They walked through the doors that led to a pair of staircases that lead to the underground. Once the doors were closed they were submerged in darkness. Hira clapped her hands three times and the lights switched on. The lights were dim and their steps echoed as they went down the stairs.

"It's been awhile since we've been down here." Shizune said as she looked at the slightly rusted walls.

"The last time we used these tunnels was during that underground drug war." Shino said as they neared the bottom of the stairs.

"And that was forever ago." Hira commented. "It makes me feel old."

"We are old." Shizune said.

"You don't have to point it out." Hira said with a sigh. There was silence as they reached the bottom of the stairs. It smelled of must and water. (Yes, water does have a smell.) They moved over to another door, a garage door to be precise. Shino pulled out a small control from his pocket and pushed the small blue button. The door opened to reveal four motorcycles. They were a shade of royal blue, it was barely noticeable but they were different. Shino took the darkest of them and the other two took the ones on the end. They placed their golden helmets on and soon were speeding down the tunnels. Every Once in awhile they would pass a large metal door with a number printed in grey. Each door had its respective number and at the moment they passed numbers 14 through 20. At the 21st door they took a sharp turn to the right and the numbers changed to 50 and onward. Although, when they made their next turn, a swarm of zombies was waiting for them. They came to a screeching stop.

"Zombies?!" Hira said as she pulled off her helmet.

"How did they get down here?!" Shizune said as she pulled out a small metal cylinder. She clicked a small button on the side and it extended into a metallic staff.

"Someone let them in." Shino growled as he pulled of his helmet. There was at least thirty of them shuffling towards them.

"What do we do?" Hira asked. "We can't go through them with these motorcycles."

"We do the one thing we can do." Shino said as he pulled out a hand gun from within in his coat pocket. "We kill them." He said as he fired off the first shot.

"Alice! Come help me set the table!" Saya called as Alice came out the house with Takashi and Kohota.

"Coming!" Alice chimed as she skipped over to Saya.

"Kohota! The meat is burning!" Rei said.

"Wahh!" Kohota said as he rushed over to the grill. Takashi laughed under his breath at the sight.

"Feeling better?" Saeko asked as she came out the house with a pitcher of lemonade.

"Huh?" Takashi said as he looked over at her. "Yeah."

"That's good; we were kind of worried for a second." Saeko said as she sat the pitcher down on the table. Takashi took the liberty to sit down and stretch himself out a bit. "What did Meyrin tell you? If you don't mind my asking."

Takashi looked off to the side. "Sorry, but I can't tell you."

Saeko raised an eyebrow. "And why not?" She asked.

"It's something personal and I'd think Meyrin would kill me." He said with a nervous laugh. "It's nothing that important anyway." He lied.

"Well, it must have been if you locked yourself in your room over it." She said nonchalantly.

"Haha, well…" He trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck. "Either way, if anything, Meyrin will tell you."

"Tell her what?" Rei asked as she came up with a plate of ribs.

"Whatever it was that Meyrin told him." Saeko answered.

"What did she tell him?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Saeko shrugged.

"I told you that Meyrin will tell you." Takashi said.

"Tell you what?" Saya asked as she joined the conversation along with Kohota.

Takashi sighed and let his head fall on the table. This wasn't going very well. He was really wishing Meyrin was there so she could handle all of this.

"Their numbers aren't shrinking!" Shizune yelled as she hit five zombies with her metallic staff.

"I know." Shino said as he fired off more shots. At the moment he was standing guard by the motorcycles.

"Hya!" Hira yelled as she kicked a zombie that lunged at Shino.

"Thanks." He said she stood back to back with him.

"Don't mention it." She said she readjusted the blades on her knuckles as well as the ones on her calves.

Shino shot his last bullet and reached for another clip but he found none. He growled and threw the gun at the nearest zombie. He then pulled out a pair of chain-scythes. Similar to those that Meyrin had but smaller. He took out the wave of zombies heading towards him but it didn't seem to make a difference, more and more kept coming.

"Where are they coming from?!" Shizune said as she created a path to them.

"We can't keep this up for much longer." Hira said as she round-house kicked another zombie.

"We won't be affected if we're bitten but that doesn't mean that we can just stop fighting. We'll be killed by them." Shino thought as he tried to find a way out of this situation. At the moment he was standing guard around the motorcycles. Shino studied the dimensions of the tunnel. It was at least as wide as a basketball court and at least as a tall as three story building. Shino looked at the motorcycles for a moment. "I wonder if the wheels have enough grip to ride on the sides of the wall." Shino thought as he eyed the surface of the walls.

"Hira, Shizune!" He called out.

"What?" They replied in unison.

"Get onto your bikes; we're going to get out of here." He said as he pulled his helmet on. The two women exchanged glances but followed his orders nonetheless. They pulled on their helmets and turned on their bikes.

"How exactly are we going to do this?" Shizune asked as she continued to bat the zombies away with her staff.

"We're going to ride on the sides of the tunnel." Shino said and wasted no time to take off. The two watched in awe as he managed to get the motorcycle onto the side of the tunnel and keep it there. A few moments later they were also doing the same thing. They zoomed on the sides of the wall and Hira went as far as to drive onto the ceiling and onto the other wall.

"Tch, Show off." Shizune said to herself as she followed suit. Soon enough they were all trying to outdo each other, completely forgetting about the zombies. Eventually they reached a clearing and luckily they had managed to stay on route.

"Wake up, princess." A voice cooed as Meyrin finally woke up from her 'nap'. Meyrin looked around for a moment, dazed, not remembering what had happened. "Feeling better?" Meyrin looked over at them and remembered what happened. She tried to sit up but realized that she was strapped to metal table.

"Untie me!" Meyrin demanded.

"Sorry, but you lost that privilege." They snickered. Meyrin shot a heated glare at them.

"What? Did you finally realize that I could take you all out?" Meyrin spat.

"Don't overestimate yourself." They scoffed.

Meyrin's glare didn't waver. "What are you going to do?"

They shrugged. "Oh, nothing, in particular." They said as they inspected their nails. "Just ask a few questions."

"And if I refuse to answer your questions?" Meyrin challenged.

"We have ways to get answers." They said as two others entered the room. "Say hello to Leo." She said and motioned to the one their right. "And Cancer." They said and motioned the one on her left. The one she called Leo was carrying a bag and let it drop with a loud clinking sound. From the sound of it, the bag was probably filled with metal objects.

"I suppose I should introduce myself as well." They said with a sigh. "I am Libra, at your service." They said with a mocking smile. "And, if you must know, I am indeed a female." Libra said. Meyrin rolled her eyes. "Now, Leo, Cancer." She said and turned to the two behind her. "You guys know what to do." She said as she took her leave but paused at the door for a moment. "And remember." She said with a smirk spreading across her face. "Make sure she can still talk when you're done." She said and left.


End file.
